Death

==== Definition of death by heartbeat and breath ====
Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of a human's death have been subjective or imprecise. Death was defined as the cessation of [[heart]]beat (cardiac arrest) and [[breath]]ing,<ref name="US President's Commission -1981">{{Cite book |last=United States. President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd3sFRTejuIC |title=Defining Death: A Report on the Medical, Legal and Ethical Issues in the Determination of Death · Part 34 |publisher=The Commission |year=1981 |page=63 |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817193515/https://books.google.com/books?id=fd3sFRTejuIC |url-status=live }}</ref> but the development of [[cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]] and prompt [[defibrillation]] have rendered that definition inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted.<ref name="US Department of the Army-1999">{{Cite book |last=United States Department of the Army |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLdfpIvnkZQC&q=CPR |title=Leadership Education and Training (LET 1) |publisher=United States Department of the Army |year=1999 |page=188 |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817193517/https://books.google.com/books?id=YLdfpIvnkZQC&q=CPR |url-status=live }}</ref> This type of death where circulatory and respiratory arrest happens is known as the circulatory definition of death (CDD). Proponents of the CDD believe this definition is reasonable because a person with permanent loss of circulatory and respiratory function should be considered dead.<ref name="Bernat-2018">{{cite journal|last=Bernat|first=James L.|date=2018|title=Conceptual Issues in DCDD Donor Death Determination|journal=Hastings Center Report|volume=48|issue=S4|pages=S26–S28|doi=10.1002/hast.948|pmid=30584853|issn=1552-146X|doi-access=free}}</ref> Critics of this definition state that while cessation of these functions may be permanent, it does not mean the situation is irreversible because if CPR is applied fast enough, the person could be revived.<ref name="Bernat-2018"/> Thus, the arguments for and against the CDD boil down to defining the actual words "permanent" and "irreversible," which further complicates the challenge of defining death. Furthermore, events [[causality|causally]] linked to death in the past no longer kill in all circumstances; without a functioning heart or lungs, life can sometimes be sustained with a combination of [[life support]] devices, [[organ transplants]], and [[artificial pacemaker]]s.