What Organ Shuts Down First When One Dies?

Our body has several major organs that must work for us to live. One shuts down when one dies, and the other organs follow.

First Organ That Shuts Down When One Dies

The first organ that stops working when one dies is the heart. When the heart stops working, one stops breathing, and in a few minutes, the brain will also stop functioning, and the skin will start to cool. Medical professionals say the brain works for seven more minutes after life support is turned off.

Your liver and kidneys, among other essential organs, will also stop working. All of the bodily systems that are supported by these organs also shut down, rendering them incapable of continuing the continuous functions that constitute, to put it simply, life.

The act of dying is a process. It is simpler to comprehend the changes your body goes through as it passes from life to death when you think about death in this way as a sequence of events. Your body's functions keep you alive from the moment you take your first breath till the end. The last necessary function your body performs on your behalf is dying.

According to one study, the loss of function in one or more of the three traditional essential organs- the heart, brain, and lungs- marks the beginning of the dying process. When the function of the damaged primary organ is not revived, the remaining organs stop functioning.

For instance, the process moves quickly in ventricular fibrillation (VF), where the irregular activity of the fibrillating heart results in circulation cessation, quickly leading to unconsciousness and loss of respiratory drive. Thus, VF is primary cardiac arrest; the heart is the brain, lung, and vascular failure source.

Additionally, abrupt cardiac arrest without treatment can be fatal in a matter of minutes. It could take your body weeks or even months to pass away from chronic or long-term diseases.

Four Signs of Natural Death

Hospice nurse Julie shares four things that family members will notice when one of them is dying naturally. According to her, there will be changes in breathing, skin color, death rattle, and fever.

First, respiratory patterns will shift. She claims that when a person enters the actively dying phase, which is said to occur just hours or days before death, their breathing patterns alter.

Second, the skin's color will noticeably change. The purple coloration on the extremities is supposedly referred to as mottling. Julie once more emphasizes that it is a typical aspect of dying, not a sign of a problem.

Third, death rattle or respiratory tract secretions occur because the dying person is unable to swallow, cough, or remove mucus and saliva from the back of their throat. This manifests in different sounds like moaning, snoring, or rattling.

Lastly, she points out how the core temperature will vary. Fever will reportedly arise frequently when a person is dying naturally because they lose control of their temperature.

Check out more news and information on Death in Science Times.