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A death rattle is noisy breathing that often occurs in someone near death. [1] Accumulation of fluids such as saliva and bronchial secretions in the throat and upper airways is the cause. [ 2 ] Those who are dying may lose their ability to swallow and may have increased production of bronchial secretions, resulting in such an accumulation. [ 3 ]
Throughout the dying process, patients will lose the ability to tolerate their secretions, resulting in a sound often disturbing and emotionally distressing to visitors termed the death rattle. [2] However, the death rattle is a separate phenomenon from agonal respirations specifically related to the patient's inability to tolerate their ...
Respiratory arrest is a serious medical condition caused by apnea or respiratory dysfunction severe enough that it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long period of time. If the heart muscle contraction is intact, the condition is known as respiratory arrest.
Signs of death or strong indications that a human is no longer alive are: Respiratory arrest (no breathing); Cardiac arrest (no pulse); Brain death (no neuronal activity); The heart and lungs are vital organs for human life due to their ability to properly oxygenate human blood (lungs) and distribute this blood to all vital organs (heart).
Rescuers are often warned against mistaking agonal breathing, which is a series of noisy gasps occurring in around 40% of cardiac arrest victims, for normal breathing. [11] If a patient is breathing, then the rescuer will continue with the treatment indicated for an unconscious but breathing patient, which may include interventions such as the ...
If the patient is conscious symptoms of airway obstructions may include: [3] The person cannot speak or cry out or has difficulty doing so; Breathing, if possible, is labored, producing gasping or stridor. The person has a violent and largely involuntary cough, gurgle, or vomiting noise.
Central neurogenic hyperventilation (CNH) is an abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by deep and rapid breaths at a rate of at least 25 breaths per minute. Increasing irregularity of this respiratory rate generally is a sign that the patient will enter into coma.
In theory, atrioventricular blockade or sinus arrest due to profound parasympathetic dominance might result in syncope or sudden cardiac death, but these rhythms tend to be rapidly reversed by lung stretch receptor activation associated with breathing. As such, a vagally produced arrest scenario is likelier during entrapment submersion than in ...