• Question: Could your heart be re-started hours after your death?

    Asked by theshogun to Ailsa, Evan, James, Kath, Ryan on 20 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Ryan Ladd

      Ryan Ladd answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      I’m not sure exactly how long a heart can last after someone dies but quite a long time. Some people donate their hearts when they die to people who need a replacement, these hearts are restarted a very long time after they’re removed from the original owners body.

      If you’re asking if you can be brought back to life, after several hours, I don’t think you can. After this time, although your heart might still work, your brain would be dead from the lack of oxygen.

    • Photo: Evan Keane

      Evan Keane answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hearts can be re-started after quite a while but your brain would die quite quickly. If your heart doesn’t pump blood to it (and the blood has oxygen in it) then it will die, and there is no way to re-start your brain!

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