Product Description

An unborn baby with a fatal heart defect . . . a skier submerged for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake . . . a comatose brain surgery patient whom doctors have declared a "vegetable."

Twenty years ago all of them would have been given up for dead, with no realistic hope for survival. But today, thanks to incredible new medical advances, each of these individuals is alive and well . . .Cheating Death.

In this riveting book, Dr. Sanjay Gupta-neurosurgeon, chief medical correspondent for CNN, and bestselling author-chronicles the almost unbelievable science that has made these seemingly miraculous recoveries possible. A bold new breed of doctors has achieved amazing rescues by refusing to accept that any life is irretrievably lost. Extended cardiac arrest, "brain death," not breathing for over an hour-all these conditions used to be considered inevitably fatal, but they no longer are. Today, revolutionary advances are blurring the traditional line between life and death in fascinating ways.

Drawing on real-life stories and using his unprecedented access to the latest medical research, Dr. Gupta dramatically presents exciting accounts of how pioneering physicians and researchers are altering our understanding of how the human body functions when it comes to survival-and why more and more patients who once would have died are now alive. From experiments with therapeutic hypothermia to save comatose stroke or heart attack victims to lifesaving operations in utero to the study of animal hibernation to help wounded soldiers on far-off battlefields, these remarkable case histories transform and enrich all our assumptions about the true nature of death and life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2116 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 5.75" w x 8.55" l, .92 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780446508872
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
High-profile physician-journalist Gupta—a medical reporter for CNN and columnist for Time who declined President Obama's nomination to be surgeon general—knows a great story when he hears one, and in this collection he rolls out extraordinarily harrowing and inspiring tales from the annals of they-ought-to-be-dead. When there is an injury, a heart attack or any loss of oxygen to the brain, time is the essential factor in determining whether a patient will live. For instance, therapeutic hypothermia, by reducing the brain's need for oxygen immediately after a trauma, allows more time for treatments to work. Gupta also notes that lives can be saved through incremental changes to current medical techniques rather than revolutionary breakthroughs. Eliminating the breathing component from CPR and concentrating only on chest compressions has been shown to raise heart attack survival rates to an unheard-of 20%. The achievements are stunning, though Gupta notes none of the exciting medical changes that we've come across will eliminate the sense of awe and mystery that stalks our notions of death. Yet it's beyond comforting to know there are doctors who simply refuse to quit a brave but ultimately losing battle to wrestle control over death. (Oct. 12)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"You will be on the edge of your seat as you read the superbly crafted stories of people who have beaten the odds, something I like to think I know quite a bit about. My friend Dr. Sanjay Gupta, America's doctor, has written a page-turner. It's an exciting medical thriller with the compassion, hope, excitement and aspiration that define Sanjay."--Lance Armstrong

"Dr. Gupta's new book is not only fascinating, it reads like a fast-paced adventure story, and it is. Full of literally heart-stopping moments, CHEATING DEATH is an account of modern-day scientific miracles, most of which would have been unthinkable a decade or two ago, and which expand the very boundaries of life itself."--Oliver Sacks

"I owe my recovery and my health to medical advances and the remarkable pioneers behind them. In his new book, the World's Doctor, Sanjay Gupta, delivers a breathtaking preview of a coming revolution in medicine that challenges virtually everything we think we know about living and dying. A truly provocative and fascinating reading experience."--President Bill Clinton

"Sanjay Gupta melds dramatic stories of people on the cusp of death rescued by life-saving advances. This book deeply touches the heart and enlightens the mind." --Jerome Groopman, M.D., Recanati Professor, Harvard Medical School, Author of How Doctors Think

"In Cheating Death, Dr. Sanjay Gupta chronicles a series of scientific advances that are saving patients' lives in striking and almost unfathomable ways. This is a wonderful book....All who read it will walk away feeling a sense of joy in the changes that Dr. Gupta so carefully and warmly details."--Henry S. Friedman, MD, James B. Powell, Jr. Professor of Neuro-Oncology; Deputy Director, The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center

"Dr. Gupta has masterfully woven compelling human stories and medical drama that intersect that narrow line separating life from death. The brave doctors who courageously defy conventional wisdom and embrace bold science and the human condition will have you cheering and shaking your head in amazement."--Nancy L. Snyderman, M.D., NBC News Chief Medical Editor; Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania

About the Author
Sanjay Gupta, MD, is a practicing neurosurgeon at Emory University Hospital and associate chief of service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Customer Reviews

Lively
Cheating Death is an incredibly well-organized, informative and educational little tome. It reads like a novelized cross between a discovery health special and an episode of Rescue 911. The drama is there as Gupta details harrowing stories of near death intermixed with an accounting of the scientific possibility and theory surrounding all things death related. Along with chapters detailing new findings about CPR and the benefits of hypothermic treatment, Gupta surprises with medically dubious topics such as suspended animation, life after death, and miracles. It makes for a bizarre combination of topics, and an even more interesting read. The author utilizes an odd blend of first, second and third person narration which awkwardly works for the material. Gupta resists taking sides in any scientific debate allowing the heroic doctors, anecdotal cases, and studies to speak for him. Cheating Death covers a lot of technical subject matter, some of which is life saving information, but Gupta takes the time to walk the lay person through his terminology. I can not think of anyone who would not benefit from this read.

"When the heart stops beating, it's not the end."
What happens when blood no longer reaches the brain, organs begin to break down, and chemical reactions start destroying cells throughout the body? The answer is no longer as obvious as it once was. In "Cheating Death," Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and popular correspondent, describes some remarkable cases in which physicians managed to revive patients whose condition seemed hopeless. Sixty-three year old Zeyad Barazanji was working out on a treadmill when he was felled by a massive heart attack. "His heart pumped no blood, his brain sent no signals, [and] he thought no thoughts." Nevertheless, he recovered and went on to live a normal life. We know now that "death is not a single event, but a process that may to bbe interrupted, even reversed." Although this notion sounds fanciful, today there are "myriad ways that modern science is changing our understanding of life and death."

Gupta tells us about a man who is diagnosed with a brain tumor that is almost invariably fatal; a fetus with a life-threatening heart defect; a skier who falls through the ice and remains trapped beneath its surface for over forty minutes; and a hiker who stumbles, hits his head, and remains on the ground for twenty-four days before he is rescued. The story of these and other individuals demonstrates "that the human body can survive far longer than we usually bargain for." There are various techniques, such as therapeutic hypothermia, that can buy valuable time for those in extremis by staving off shock, controlling blood flow, and reducing the body's need for oxygen. Are these methods guaranteed to work every time, and are they used in every hospital? Absolutely not. However, researchers are constantly investigating new lifesaving protocols, some of which hold great promise.

The author's writing style, although not jargon-free, is accessible, lively, and engrossing. In addition, Gupta's revealing interviews with the pioneers of resuscitative medicine suggest that certain experimental practices may someday become part of mainstream emergency care. Although the book has extensive endnotes, it lacks an index, which would have been useful. In addition, Gupta does not adequately explain the differences between "brain death" and "persistent vegetative state," terms that are unclear to most laymen. Nevertheless, "Cheating Death" does offer an exciting look at the various ways in which "doctors and medical miracles ...are saving lives against all odds."

Impressive!
"Cheating Death" provides an interesting account of recent innovations in medical care that bring individuals back to life that previously would have been considered impossible to save. Just as amazing, these innovations are not high-tech, just modifications of existing protocols. Also included are sections on new research into suspended animation, medical miracles, and the mysteries of patients in a permanent vegetative state.

Dr. Gupta begins by asserting that life and death is not a black-and-white issue - there is a gray zone in-between. Death is not a single event, but a process that may be interrupted, even reversed. "Cheating Death" explores that border through the senses of people who've found themselves straddling it, and by meeting the medical leaders working to push back that boundary.

Therapeutic hypothermia was first used in the 1940s and 1950s when pioneering heart surgeons began using it to extend their time in the O.R. Many got better in the short-term, then died of pneumonia. Nobody knows how or why it works, though studies show that every 1 degree C. drop in body temperature lowers metabolism by 5-7%. The book then tells Anna Bagenholm's story - trapped underwater in a 56 degree stream for almost 90 minutes in a freak skiing accident, then in a rescue chopper another 74 minutes en route to a hospital and receiving only CPR during that time. Luckily, the treating physician had treated numerous prior cases of hypothermia - not all were saved, but he steadily learned from each case. They hooked Anna up to a heart-lung machine that slowly warmed her blood while maintaining circulation. Within 25 minutes her heart was back to a steady rhythm. (Saving Anna was complicated by accidentally tearing an artery - this wasn't realized until later due to her having no blood pressure at the time; rescuers then had to drain a liter of blood from her chest and saw it open to find and fix the problem.)

Rescuers resisted following the then standard practice of adding fluids because their prior experience showed doing so caused fatal brain swelling. She spent 5 days on a machine the helped oxygenate her blood, another several weeks on a respirator, and remained paralyzed neck down for five months. Fortunately, Anna was back at work in 18 months and completed her physician residency training program, though with limited use of her hands. (Not limited enough, however, to keep her from returning to skiing.)

Dr. Gupta then moves to Columbia University hospital in New York City and the subject of treating strokes with hypothermia. There internist Dr. Stephan Mayer improved results by limiting cooling to 90 degrees F. Unfortunately, readers also learn of resistance to change - limiting the benefits of hypothermia (eg. cutting cardiac arrest death rates in half) to patients lucky enough to be treated by a limited number of innovative physicians.

Next is the story of how CPR was simplified - no more stopping chest compressions for mouth-to-mouth breathing; similarly, fewer and shorter interruptions for defibrillation. Instead, the focus would be on quickly restarting blood flow. Change proponents contended that the oxygen already within the patients blood was sufficient to supply their needs. The result was that patient survival rates tripled (researchers only counted those regaining good brain function). Again, Gupta also reports considerable resistance to change. The change proponents, however, persisted, pointing out that traditional treatment had a 97% failure rate - they couldn't do much worse. (Seattle later also found it advantageous to keep the number of EMTs down - allowing staff greater practice and improved success.)

Defense Department sponsored research is now underway to find ways to suspend animation via drugs or hydrogen sulfide for wounded soldiers until intensive emergency care can be provided. This research would also benefit heart attack and motor vehicle accident victims. Researchers have attained good success with rats and mice, and are now progressing with research using pigs.

Non-responsive nursing home patients can be particularly frustrating to work with. One study found about one in three diagnosed as being in a permanent vegetative state become fully conscious within a year. As a result, they're often not treated as aggressively as they should be.

Finally, its on to perinatal surgery (difficult at best, large risk of premature delivery), and medical miracles (spontaneous recoveries).