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Friday July 30,2010

How Do We Know Someone Is Dead?

by Jim Baltzell, MD

Physical life as we know it is maintained by the heart and lungs on a moment by moment basis. If these stop working for any length of time a person dies. After death the body becomes pale due to loss of oxygenated blood. The body also becomes cold due to the cessation all body activity. The eyes may remain open. Sometimes the bowels and bladder release their contents. Depending on the situation the tongue stays in.

Generally, if oxygen is not available for the brain for approximately 5 minutes the brain will cease to function permanently (unless the person is hypothermic or cold). This could be caused by a heart attack, stopped breathing, injury or stroke. The brain may die but the heart and lungs keep working. The heart may stop beating and die for any number of reasons including a heart attack. The person may stop breathing due to illness, injury, or even medication. How do we know if a person is dead?

Breathing may be checked by watching the persons chest, or by putting a mirror in front of their mouth and nose. If the person stops breathing for more than 10 minutes the heart and brain usually will die.

Heart activity can be checked by checking the pulse. An inexperienced person should practice taking their own pulse at the corner of the jaw and neck. The carotid artery is located here and is usually easy to check. Pulses may also be checked at the groin and wrist. It may be necessary in some cases to check the heart with an EKG to prove the heart is not beating. This may be done by Emergency Medical Technologists (911) if the person is not in a hospital or by other medical personnel if the patient is in the hospital.

Brain activity can be checked by an Electroencephalogram (an EEG is a test of the brains electrical activity, when the brain is dead there is no electrical activity). This test must be done by a medical professional. It is possible for the heart and lungs to function and the brain to be dead.

• If the room is at normal room temperature and the person is very cold usually they are dead.

• If the person is cold and the arms and legs are stiff (rigor mortis) the person is dead.

• A medical or emergency professional is required to formally make a diagnosis of death.

Observing death can be a difficult. For most of us it is an emotional time when we are not thinking as well as we normally would. We have excellent medical facilities and Emergency medical teams, however, we must be prepared for death when someone is old or very ill. This difficult time can be made easier if we prepare ourselves.

Dr. James Baltzell M.D. is a practicing physician in Minneapolis, MN and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota. He has been practicing medicine for the last 30 years.