Failure to Elicit Near-Death Experiences in Induced Cardiac Arrest

This article describes a study attempting to test the accuracy of out-of-body perceptions during cardiac arrest induced during surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs), electrical devices that automatically detect cardiac arrest and administer an electrical shock to return the heart to normal rhythm.  In a series of 52 induced cardiac arrests, no patient reported having had a near-death or out-of-body experience.  The article discusses possible reasons that no NDEs occurred in these induced cardiac arrests.