One of the Texas Hospice nurses called me to report some unusual breathing patterns during a patient death. She said that the patient continued to breathe even after the heart ceased beating.
The medical literature describes several kinds of abnormal breathing patterns:
- True agonal respirations occur immediately after a heart attack. The heart will flutter and cease pumping blood. For a reason that we don’t understand, the patient will then periodically gasp for air. This indicates need for immediate CPR.
- Cheyne-Stokes respirations occur when a person is near death. The patient’s breathing rate will be alternately fast and very slow. The body is dealing with acid-base disturbances.
- The last breaths before death, which is what my hospice nurse witnessed, is a little different, I believe, than agonal respirations and Cheyne-Stokes. It is as if the body is shutting down its functions one-by-one in sequence. The breathing continues for a few minutes after the heart stops.
“We are fearfully and wonderfully made, ” so says the Psalmist. The mystery of death and of dying gives us intermittent glimpses into the wonder of human physiology.
For a great video on the wonder of the Creator, go to http://crazylovebook.com/. Click “videos” the “the awe factor of God.”
