Drawing upon ground-breaking research, Dr Sam Parnia explains what happens to the brain and consciousness during cardiac arrest. In The Lazarus Effect , he shares the amazing stories of patients who have survived cardiac arrest, and explains how this points to a new understanding of death. Medical science has made huge advances in recent years and it's now clear that: · If a patient hasn't taken a breath for 10 minutes, they are not necessarily dead. In fact, death is not a moment in time but a process - today you could still be resuscitated after 40 minutes. · In 10 years' time, we may recover loved ones hours, or even days, after their last breath. · If the body suffers a serious trauma, the heart and brain cells go into a sort of hibernation from which they can recover. · Recovery is much more likely if the body is artificially cooled - but only 50% of hospitals do this. · Only 1.

8% of resuscitations are currently successful (unlike how it seems on TV hospital dramas). · The 'dead' can remember things, and do have some awareness while they're 'out of action'. We need to reassess such questions as: When is the brain actually dead? When should organ donation begin? What does all this mean about the nature of our minds and our bodies? Using the very latest science, The Lazarus Effect has profound implications for the ways in which we view death - and life - and will hopefully change the way medics treat us should we ever find ourselves in Accident and Emergency.