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Foundations II 2023 proposed edits
Add information about survivors of cardiac arrest
Add information about other causes of cardiac arrest/ flatlining (i.e. natural causes)
Add information about DNR regarding treatment of flatline
Add section about electroencephalogram flatlining
Add section about media's uses (i.e. movies, tv shows, music, etc.) of flatline
Improve and update overall writing of article
In 1901 to 1905, Willem Einthoven developed the string galvanometer, which could measure and record the heart’s electrical activity. Electrodes were place on 3 points, the “Einthoven leads”, the right and left arms and on the left foot same as today and provided precise recordings of the heart.[1]
Society and Culture
Flatlining is a common trope used in media such as, movies, television shows, and other forms of media, to signify that the person has died. It refers to when the heart stops beating also known as asystole it appears "flat" on an electrocardiogram. The first known use of the word flatline was in 1980. [2] It use was popularized in 1990 by a movie called "Flatliners," where a group of medical students induce death or flatlining of each other to explore the afterlife. The flatline concept is not limited to only media such as TV shows and movies but it is also used in music. (i.e. Flatline (B.o.B song), Flatliner, (song), Flatline (Justin Bieber song), etc.)
The flatlining trope is presented by a character who is on an electrocardiogram machine which is beeping with a line that moves up and down indicating steady heart beats and heart rhythm. When the beeping becomes a long sustained beep and the line is flat, the character has flatlined indicating the character has no heart beat or in cardiac arrest and has died.[3]
In media, the characters may try to revive the recently flatlined character using defibrillation. However reviving people who have flatlined using defibrillation is typically unsuccessful. Defibrillation is when an electric shock is given to a person to restore them back to normal heart rhythm, but it is only possible when the heart still has electric activity.[4] Asystole or flatlining are considered non-shockable or conditions that don’t respond to defibrillation because there is no activity.[5] In entertainment, the portrayal of characters surviving after flatlining is not likely in reality.
After Flat line
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, where 631 subjects' end of life was observed. Of the 631 subjects, 480 subjects were analyzed using a computer program that recorded each subject's vitals in order to monitor for return of pulse or heart activity after at least 1 minute of flatlining. The study found that 14% of subjects had a return of heart activity but none regained consciousness. [6] Neuro flatline or brain death happens after cardiac arrest or cardiac flatline. It can take 2 to 20 seconds after cardiac flatline for the brain to show no activity. [7]
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- ^ "Milestones:String Galvanometer, 1901-1905". ETHW. 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ "Definition of FLATLINE". www.merriam-webster.com. 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
- ^ "Flatline". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ "What is Defibrillation Used For?". Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ Vagg, Michael (2013-05-13). "Monday's medical myth: flatlining patients can be shocked back to life". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ Beinum, Amanda van; Dhanani, Sonny (2021-01-28). "When is 'dead' really dead? What happens after a person 'flatlines'". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ "Brain function does not die immediately after the heart stops finds study". News-Medical.net. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2023-07-29.