Best Theistic Arguments

[Angrboda]

"As soon as CPR was initiated, the patient opened his eyes. When CPR was performed, the patient was able to respond to verbal communication by moving eyes, lifting hands and legs and nodding his head. The patient's wife was present and able to hold his hand," Lundsgaard said.

This level of conscious awareness during CPR is extremely unusual, according to Dr. Sam Parnia, director of critical care and resuscitation research at New York University Langone Medical Center and leading author of a 2014 study on the topic.

"It is exceedingly rare for people to have actual awareness with external signs of being conscious as is being discussed in this case report," Parnia wrote in an email. "All the studies of CPR have demonstrated that there is insufficient blood flow to the brain (approximately 15% of baseline blood flow) to allow for the return of brain stem reflexes and consciousness with external signs of being awake.

. . . . .

Though rare, awareness during CPR may be more common than many people think. In the 2014 study, 2% of cardiac arrest survivors could explicitly recall "seeing" or "hearing" actual events related to their resuscitation.

Patient remains awake for 90 minutes of CPR, doctor says