LONDON, UK, September 22, 2008: In cases of cardiac arrest, where the body is technically dead and doctors restart the heart to bring the patient back to life, some people have reported soaring out of their bodies and looking down on themselves and medical staff. Doctors have decided to study 1,500 heart attack patients to see if people with no heartbeat or brain activity can have such “out of body” experiences.
To test the theory, doctors at 25 hospitals in Britain and the US will place images on shelves that are only visible from the ceiling.
Dr Sam Parnia, an intensive care doctor who is heading the study, said: “If you can demonstrate that consciousness continues after the brain switches off, it allows for the possibility that the consciousness is a separate entity.” He added, “What people experience during this period of cardiac arrest provides a unique window of understanding into what we are all likely to experience during the dying process.”