Pacemaker question

[crYnOid]

It is quite simple really If someone dies does their pacemaker keep on going??

Just another brain fart

 

[Killbat]

Sure. But the heart probably doesn't.

 

[Mday]

ewwwwww, brain fart.

 

[Mday]

the pacemaker sends out a jolt of electricity to keep the heart beat as steady and consistent as possible.

so, with every jolt, the pacemaker will make the heart "beat" temporarily. i mean, the person is dead, so the heart does not continue beating. and speaking of dead, what do you mean? brain dead, really dead, heart stopped dead, legally dead, what?

 

[crYnOid]

dead as in dead so does someone's heart try to keep on going until the pacemaker's battery runs out? or is the jolt to small to do that much

 

[Killbat]

no breathing = no oxygen = no ion shift = no beat

 

[crYnOid]

ooooooooooooo..... ion shift

 

[Killbat]

Bah, the ignorant masses.

 

[Mark R]

There are plenty of things that can stop your heart from beating, besides lack of electrical coordination within the heart.

For example, lack of oxygen, hypothermia, electrolyte disturbance in the blood.

There are also things that can stop the heart doing any useful work even if it tries to beat.

Eg. massive blood clot, air in the chest, blood/fluid filling the cavity surrounding the heart.

Pacemakers will generally keep going after death. There are many different types of pacemaker - some just generate beats, some monitor one part of the heart and stimulate another, so that the parts of the heart beat in time. The more complex ones will enter a 'safe mode' if they can't detect any beats, where they try to generate beats at a fixed 70-80 per minute.

All, however, need to be removed before cremation, otherwise the battery contained within them explodes and damages the crematorium oven.

 

[crYnOid]

hey i like being in the ignorant masses, it is a great excuse if you do something stupid and no one will question it either