Does Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest for Aortic Surgery Trigger Near-Death Experience? Incidence of Near-Death Experiences after Aortic Surgeries Performed under Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest.
Marion Mauduit, Amedeo Anselmi, Jacques Tomasi, Reda Belhaj Soulami, Florent Le Bars, Erwan Flecher, Jean-Philippe Verhoye
Aorta April 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1725091 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 101 |
| Population | Patients undergoing thoracic aortic surgery |
| Intervention | hypothermic circulatory arrest |
| Duration | Immediate postoperative course |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | No patient reported a near-death experience after aortic surgery with hypothermic circulatory arrest. |
Abstract
Understanding near-death experiences (NDE) could provide a new insight into the analysis of human consciousness and the neurocognitive processes happening upon the approach of death. With a temporary interruption of systemic perfusion, aortic surgery under hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) may be the only available model of reversible clinical death. We present, herein, the results of an observational study designed to assess the incidence of NDE after aortic surgery. We performed a prospective study including consecutive patients who underwent thoracic aortic surgery between July 2018 and September 2019 at our institution. Procedures without HCA were included to constitute a control group. The primary outcome was the incidence of NDE assessed with the Greyson NDE scale during the immediate postoperative course, via a standardized interview of the patients in the surgical ward. One hundred and one patients were included. Twenty-one patients (20.8%) underwent nonelective interventions for aortic dissection. Ninety-one patients had hemiarch replacement (90.1%). Sixty-seven (66.3%) interventions were performed with HCA, with an average circulatory arrest duration of 26.9 ± 25.5 minutes, and a mean body temperature of 23.7 ± 3.8°C. None of the patients reported any recollection from their period of unconsciousness. There was no NDE experiencer in the study cohort. Several confounding factors regarding anesthesia, or NDE evaluation, might have impaired the chance of NDE recollections, and might have contributed to this negative result. Whether HCA may trigger NDE remains unknown.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands Cardiac patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals | 2001 | Prospective cohort study | n = 344 |
| Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit Cardiac inpatients at a tertiary care center | 2003 | Observational cohort | n = 1,595 |
| Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death Patients who believed they were near death during an illness or after an injury and... | 1990 | Observational cohort | n = 58 |
| The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences | 1980 | Retrospective study | n = 78 |
| Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe Individuals who reported having had a near-death experience during a life-threatening... | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- A neuroscientific model of near-death experiences. Nature Reviews Neurology June 1, 2025
- Consciousness and the Dying Brain. Anesthesiology June 1, 2024
- The central clinical relevance of near-death experiences in acute care contexts: identification, prediction, and management Frontiers in Psychology July 22, 2025
- The intertwining of death and life: a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation of near-death experiences among coma survivors. BMC Psychology September 29, 2025
Cites 9
- Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands The Lancet December 1, 2001
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Dissociation in people who have near-death experiences: out of their bodies or out of their minds? The Lancet February 1, 2000
- Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors Progress in Brain Research 2005
- Near-Death Experiences Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine February 1, 1996
and 4 more in the library