Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles That Are Saving Lives Against All Odds

Cheating Death by Sanjay Gupta Genre: Medical, Non-fiction Rating: 5/5 Summary (from goodreads): 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. My Review: Dr. Gupta takes his readers on a wild ride through modern medical science. I learned so much from this book! It was interesting, fast-paced, informative, but also held a certain amount of adventure and suspense as Gupta tells stories and relates interviews with people who have had amazing experiences with life and death--and in-between. Prepare to have your mind boggled with modern day science written in easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow prose. Audio review: The audio-book was read by the author, and he is one of the best readers I've listened to. Gupta takes pride in his own work, and it shows through his voice. It's not too fast or slow, is read with energy, and is enjoyable and engaging. Recommendation: Ages 16+ to anyone who likes non-fiction, medical thrillers, or thrillers of any kind.

CHEATING DEATH: THE DOCTORS AND MEDICAL MIRACLES THAT ARE SAVING LIVES AGAINST ALL ODDS packs in a fine examination of medicine, ethics, religion and law, detailing how science has made miraculous recoveries possible and using case files and the author's access to breaking news in his field to explain how technological advances are extending an understanding of differences between life and death. A 'must' for any health or general lending library.

I really liked the stories of the doctors that went beyond the status quo and decided to beat the odds. It is a lesson for everybody to try their best in order to achieve successful results. Doing your job just doesn't do it anymore. It gives you hope and encourage you to never give up. Highly recommended!

From the first page I became engrossed and knew I was reading new and very useful information. This book should be read by all health professionals, I hope if I ever need help that the person helping me has read this tome.

Having lost a close friend to cardiac arrest a few years back, the concept behind this book really intrigued me. True be told, I had never really thought about "cheating death" too much. My way of thinking has always been...either you have a heart beat and you're alive, or you don't have one and you're dead. But, after reading this book I discovered...well, I was wrong. Dr. Gupta explains how it is possible for a person to go from having NO heartbeat for several hours, to walking and talking like it never happened. The personal stories he weaved throughout the book about those who "died" and then came back to life were seriously fascinating. And what surprised me the most was that many of the methods used to recover these people were relatively simple techniques. In fact, some of the ways are techniques the average joe w/ no medical experience (like myself) could use to potentially save a life. I was pleasantly surprised & intrigued reading this book. Perhaps it just hit close to home but it truly was a real eye opener for me. I learned nothing in life, not even death, is as black and white as it may appear. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to buy themselves or a loved one a little "extra time" if tragedy strikes.