Failure to elicit near-death experiences in induced cardiac arrest.
Bruce Greyson, Janice Holden, J. Paul Mounsey
The Journal of near-death studies January 1, 2006 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-2006-25-2-p85-98. via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractDuring the surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac arrest was induced under closely monitored conditions to test the device. A computer displayed unusual visual targets visible only from above eye level, looking down on the unconscious patient, to test the accuracy of out-of-body perceptions reported in near-death experiences. In a series of 52 induced cardiac arrests, no patient reported having had a near-death experience, and none reported a sense of leaving the physical body or observing from an out-of-body visual perspective. This failure to find a single NDE may have been due to preoperative reassurances.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 52 |
| Population | Patients undergoing surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs) with induced cardiac arrest |
| Keywords | Psychology Internal medicine |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key finding | No patient reported a near-death experience or out-of-body perception during 52 induced cardiac arrests. |
Abstract
Persons reporting near-death experiences (NDEs) sometimes describe a sense of having been out of their bodies and observing their surroundings from a visual perspective outside of and above their bodies. We attempted to study such phenomena during the surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs), electrical devices that monitor the patient's heartbeat and automatically detect cardiac arrest and administer an electrical shock to return the heart to normal rhythm. When ICDs are implanted in a patient's chest, cardiac arrest is induced under closely monitored conditions, in order to test the ICD's sensitivity and effectiveness. This study was designed to investigate the accuracy of out-of-body perceptions during NDEs that occur during these induced cardiac arrests. A computer in the operating room displayed quasi-randomly-selected unusual visual targets so that they were visible only from above eye level, from a visual perspective looking down upon the body of the unconscious patient. In a series of 52 induced cardiac arrests, no patient reported having had a near-death experience, and none reported a sense of having left the physical body or observing from an out of-body visual perspective. This failure to find a single NDE in 52 induced cardiac arrests may have been due to preoperative reassurances that patients