London, April 8 (Inditop.com) Near death experiences (NDEs), which include sensations like life flashing before the eyes, peace and joy, and seeming encounters with mystical entities, may be caused by raised levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood.
Zalika Klemenc-Ketis from the University of Maribor, Slovenia, worked with a team of researchers, to examine patients who reported NDEs.
She said: “Several theories explaining the mechanisms of NDEs exist. We found that in those patients who experienced the phenomenon, blood carbon dioxide levels were significantly higher than in those who did not.”
Of the 52 cardiac arrest patients, 11 reported NDEs. Their occurrence did not correlate with patients’ sex, age, level of education, religious belief, fear of death, time of recovery or drugs given during resuscitation, said a release of University of Maribor.
They were more common in people, who had previously experienced NDEs.
“Our study adds new and important information to the field of NDE phenomena. The association with carbon dioxide has never been reported before and deserves further study,” concluded Klemenc-Ketis.
These findings were published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Critical Care.
