How to Diagnose Clinical Death

Once upon a time, there was no gray area between life and death. After years of people being buried alive and other horrific mistakes, we now know that this gray area does indeed exist. For instance, if a person is what's known as clinically dead, they can, with the help of CPR, be brought back to life. So, what are the terms? Here is how to diagnose clinical death.

Instructions

1. Check to see if the person is breathing. Cessation of breathing is the onset of clinical death, as the organs will quickly become affected by lack of oxygen. It should be noted at this point that if the person in question is not already hospitalized, 911 should be called immediately. Time is the ultimate factor in keeping clinical death from becoming biological death.

2. Search for the victim's heartbeat. Once the heart has stopped beating, the person has entered into a state of clinical death, as the standard definition of clinical death is the cessation of breathing followed by the stopping of the heart.

3. Be prepared to act quickly! If the person is hospitalized, call for a doctor or nurse to help. If the person is not hospitalized, someone should begin to immediately administer CPR while help is being called. Every second counts once a person is clinically dead.

4. Inform the professionals as best you can about the situation. Try to figure out exactly how long the person has not been breathing and how long it has been since the heart stopped. Longer periods of time increase the risk of irreparable brain damage and absolute death.

5. Try to figure out the cause of the victim's clinical death, as it will be of paramount importance to the professionals. Clinical death can be caused by a variety of factors: hypothermia, poisoning, head injury, etc. The more the professionals know, the better the chances of saving a life.

Tips & Warnings

• You can be a big part of the life-saving process by taking the necessary training and becoming a certified CPR practitioner.