Its long been believed that brain and heart cells die within four or five minutes of lack of oxygen, which is why its important to remember to keep breathing. Recent studies have shown that this simply isn't true. Brain and heart cells go into stasis when oxygen is cut off, and don't die for several hours. What does kill someone who's stopped breathing for 5 minutes then?
It seems the answer is being forced to breathe again. The sudden reappearance of oxygen in the blood causes a massive wave of cell death. Doctors are now looking into the possibility of slowly returning oxygen to the blood at a rate that doesn't cause this massive apoptosis. With luck we'll find ways to safely revive people who've been without oxygen for hours, potentially saving many lives.
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