The phenomenon of a person coming back to life after being declared dead or in suspended animation is a phenomenon in society that always attracts attention. While suspended animation is frequently associated with the cliched and unscientific, it can be medically explained. One theory that can explain this phenomenon is the Lazarus syndrome, also known as the Lazarus effect.

What is the Lazarus effect?

You may have heard stories about people going into suspended animation or resurrecting after being declared dead. Many people associate suspended animation with something mystical, but this condition has several medical explanations. In medicine, this phenomenon is known by various terms, such as:

• Lazarus Syndrome or Lazarus Effect
• Autoresuscitation
• Autoresuscitation after CPR has failed
• Delayed return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after failed CPR

The Lazarus effect is the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after doctors stop cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Normally, the heart circulates blood throughout the body's organs and tissues. When the heart stops beating, blood circulation stops, and organs lose blood flow and oxygen, resulting in organ failure and death.

Usually, the cause of the heart stopping cannot be corrected, resulting in death despite CPR. Sometimes CPR works to restart the heart, especially if the cause is curable.

This condition is known as suspended animation or the Lazarus effect, but this terminology is incorrect because patients who experience the Lazarus effect do not die and then resurrect. Patients with this condition have vital signs that stop working, indicating a delay in blood flow recovery after resuscitation. Because of this delay, a person appears to have died before regaining consciousness.

Read more: First Aid For A Heart Attack

According to research, a person can regain consciousness within 10 minutes of CPR being stopped. For this reason, experts recommend that medical personnel monitor the patient for at least 10 minutes after stopping CPR, rather than declaring the patient dead right away.

Some of the signs of life that appear include:

• Breathing
• Measurable pulse or blood pressure
• Coughing
• Movement

Medically, death is defined as the progressive damage of all organs required for life. In addition to waiting 10 minutes after CPR is stopped, doctors may place a heart monitor on the patient to ensure a loss of heart rhythm lasting 10 minutes or more.

Read more: Heart Bypass Surgery For Heart Disease

Before declaring death, doctors and medical personnel must confirm the loss of function in multiple organs. Other signs that must be observed include:

• No heart sounds
• No palpable pulse
• Fixed and dilated pupils that do not respond to light
• Lack of response to pain

According to Healthline, a person dies when all organs, including the brain, stop working permanently. For this reason, doctors will not declare someone dead until they have thoroughly examined the patient's signs of death.

While the exact cause of the Lazarus effect is unknown, one theory holds that performing CPR quickly can force a large amount of air into the lungs, resulting in hyperventilation. In other words, there is too much air in the lungs and not enough time to expel it, resulting in elevated chest pressure.

This increase in pressure reduces the amount of blood that can enter and exit the heart. When CPR is stopped, the pressure drops and blood flow returns to the heart. This can cause blood circulation in organs to return to normal, but only temporarily.

The Lazarus effect is a rare condition that mostly affects people who have had heart attacks.

If you need medical advice or consultation, you can either visit a doctor or make use of the consultation features that are available in the Ai Care application by downloading the Ai Care application from the App Store or Play Store.

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