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Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two criteria necessary to sustain the lives of human beings and of many other organisms. [1] It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest. The term is also sometimes used in resuscitation research.
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). Hence, failure of the heart to pump blood or the lungs to obtain oxygen can lead to a cardiopulmonary death where the heart stops pumping and there is no pulse.
While a heart attack refers to death of heart muscle tissue as a result of blood supply loss, cardiac arrest is caused when the heart's electrical system malfunctions. Furthermore, the American Heart Association explains that "if corrective measures are not taken rapidly, this condition progresses to sudden death.
Continued pumping operation of the heart during exsanguination increases the rate of depletion and thus hastens death by raising the fluid pressure of the blood. Because the heart operates like a positive displacement pump , blood volume reduction will not affect cardiac output efficiency.
The heart did not pump blood around, the heart's motion sucked blood in during diastole and the blood moved by the pulsation of the arteries themselves. [93] Galen believed the arterial blood was created by venous blood passing from the left ventricle to the right through 'pores' between the ventricles. [90]
This process is of vital importance as it allows for the heart to beat in a controlled manner, without the need for conscious input. EC coupling results in the sequential contraction of the heart muscles that allows blood to be pumped, first to the lungs ( pulmonary circulation ) and then around the rest of the body ( systemic circulation ) at ...
Cardiogenic shock is caused by the failure of the heart to pump effectively. [6] This can be due to damage to the heart muscle, most often from a large myocardial infarction . Other causes of cardiogenic shock include dysrhythmias , cardiomyopathy / myocarditis , congestive heart failure (CHF), myocardial contusion , or valvular heart disease ...
When the heart stops functioning and is no longer agitating the blood, heavy red blood cells sink through the serum by action of gravity. The blood travels faster in warmer conditions and slower in colder conditions. Livor mortis starts within 20–30 minutes, but is usually not observable by the human eye until two hours after death. The size ...