Since modern medicine has made it possible to revive people in cardiac arrest, humanity has found itself faced with an opportunity to collect the stories of those who, in some way, came close to death. These moments between life and death generate a set of experiences called “near death experiences” (NDE). In 2014, a team of researchers undertook a study, drawing on survivor testimonies to explore common themes in these stories. The results of the study were published in the journal Resuscitation.
A world of unknown sensations
Interviews were conducted with 101 people, all of whom had survived cardiac arrest. Based on these interviews, 46% of participants recalled their near-death experience, and their accounts were disturbing to say the least. The researchers identified seven main cognitive themes. For many survivors, NDEs are marked by a deep and sometimes paralyzing feeling of fear. The participants speak of moments of panic where they find themselves confronted with the idea of their own disappearance. Some describe almost nightmarish scenes, such as being forced to “say one last word” or finding themselves dragged into dark and threatening depths.
Interestingly, a number of cardiac arrest survivors have reported seeing animals or plants during their NDE. In some cases, they described rich and diverse natural environments populated by creatures like lions and tigers. Light is also a recurring theme in NDE stories, and it often seems to symbolize a passage or transformation. Several participants report seeing a bright, golden light, similar to the sun, which they perceive as calming and reassuring.
A significant number of testimonies report visions of family members, often missing, who appear at critical moments of the experience. These encounters are described as comforting, but some people have also noted the inability to communicate with loved ones, despite their tangible presence. For some participants, the NDE seems like an initiatory journey, with rituals involving pain and persecution. One of the most striking accounts speaks of a “ceremony” where the person was to be burned.
Some survivors also describe an experience of déjà vu, where they have the feeling of knowing what was going to happen, as if they were having a form of premonition. This feeling sometimes persists several days after the cardiac arrest.
Real-life memories during cardiac arrest
One of the most surprising phenomena observed in NDE survivors is their ability to remember precise details of what is happening around them, even when their hearts have stopped beating. For example, a patient remembers hearing the words “ shock the patient » during his resuscitation, while having an overhead perspective, as if observing the scene from the ceiling. Emergency department recordings later corroborated his recollection. This phenomenon could be explained by conscious activity detected in the brain even after cardiac arrest.
Researchers hope that this exploration of NDEs will not only shed light on the mechanisms of consciousness, but also help patients deal with the psychological repercussions of their experience. Some survivors develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after cardiac arrest, in part because of the disturbing nature of their NDE.
As the study authors conclude, NDEs offer a variety of experiences that range from intense fear to awareness. Although explicit recall of events during cardiac arrest remains rare, it is essential to continue research to understand the role of implicit memory in these experiences, as well as its impact on patients’ post-traumatic adjustment.
As a reminder, people who have had a near-death experience report the same thing afterwards.
