Lazarus phenomenon

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Lazarus phenomenon is the spontaneous return of a normal cardiac activity after a person has been pronounced dead. It was named by Jack G. Bray in 1993 referring to Lazarus of Bethany who, according to the New Testament, was raised from the dead by Jesus. It is also used to refer to the spontaneous return of cardiac rhythm after failed attempts at resuscitation; as such it is called autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The phenomenon was first described in medical journals in 1982, and has been noted at least 38 times since then. Occurrences of the syndrome are extremely rare, and the causes are not well understood. One hypothesis for the phenomenon is that a chief factor (though not the only one) is the buildup of pressure in the chest as a result of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The relaxation of pressure after resuscitation efforts have ended is thought to allow the heart to expand, triggering the heart's electrical impulses and restarting the heartbeat...

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