AWARE-AWAreness during REsuscitation-a prospective study.
Sam Parnia, Ken Spearpoint, Gabriele De Vos, Peter Fenwick, Diana Goldberg, Jie Yang, Jiawen Zhu, Katie Baker, Hayley Killingback, Paula McLean, Melanie Wood, A Maziar Zafari, Neal Dickert, Roland Beisteiner, Fritz Sterz, Michael L Berger, Celia Warlow, Siobhan Bullock, Salli Lovett, Russell Metcalfe Smith McPara, Sandra Marti-Navarette, Pam Cushing, Paul Wills, Kayla Harris, Jenny Sutton, Anthony Walmsley, Charles D. Deakin, Paul Little, Mark Farber, Bruce Greyson, Elinor R Schoenfeld
Resuscitation October 7, 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2014.09.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 140 |
| Population | Cardiac arrest survivors from 2,060 cardiac arrest events across multiple centers |
| Duration | 4 years |
| Keywords | Brain Humans Heart arrest Cardiopulmonary resuscitation Prospective studies Attitude to death Fantasy Awareness Consciousness Mental recall Parapsychology Middle aged Survivors Female Young adult United kingdom Cardiac arrest Implicit memory Explicit memory Near death experiences |
| Key findings | Cardiac arrest survivors commonly reported a broad range of cognitive themes: 46% had memories spanning seven themes, 9% reported near-death experiences, and 2% described awareness with explicit recall of actual resuscitation events, with one verifiable period of conscious awareness when cerebral function was not expected. The authors argue these findings support the possibility that consciousness may be present despite clinically undetectable consciousness, and that fearful experiences may contribute to PTSD and other cognitive deficits after cardiac arrest. |
Abstract
Background: Cardiac arrest (CA) survivors experience cognitive deficits including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is unclear whether these are related to cognitive/mental experiences and awareness during CPR. Despite anecdotal reports the broad range of cognitive/mental experiences and awareness associated with CPR has not been systematically studied.
Methods: The incidence and validity of awareness together with the range, characteristics and themes relating to memories/cognitive processes during CA was investigated through a 4 year multi-center observational study using a three stage quantitative and qualitative interview system. The feasibility of objectively testing the accuracy of claims of visual and auditory awareness was examined using specific tests. The outcome measures were (1) awareness/memories during CA and (2) objective verification of claims of awareness using specific tests.
Results: Among 2060 CA events, 140 survivors completed stage 1 interviews, while 101 of 140 patients completed stage 2 interviews. 46% had memories with 7 major cognitive themes: fear; animals/plants; bright light; violence/persecution; deja-vu; family; recalling events post-CA and 9% had NDEs, while 2% described awareness with explicit recall of 'seeing' and 'hearing' actual events related to their resuscitation. One had a verifiable period of conscious awareness during which time cerebral function was not expected.
Conclusions: CA survivors commonly experience a broad range of cognitive themes, with 2% exhibiting full awareness. This supports other recent studies that have indicated consciousness may be present despite clinically undetectable consciousness. This together with fearful experiences may contribute to PTSD and other cognitive deficits post CA.
Citations in the library
Cited by 67
- Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness Trends in Cognitive Sciences January 22, 2020
- Guidelines and standards for the study of death and recalled experiences of death––a multidisciplinary consensus statement and proposed future directions Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences February 18, 2022
- AWAreness during REsuscitation - II: A multi-center study of consciousness and awareness in cardiac arrest. Resuscitation October 1, 2023
- Epistemological implications of near-death experiences and other non-ordinary mental expressions: Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness Medical Hypotheses April 11, 2015
- A systematic analysis of distressing near-death experience accounts Memory June 12, 2019
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and 6 more in the library