Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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."

I've always been fascinated by the vast field of medicine and new therapies/medicines/techniques for saving lives. Some of our greatest challenges include finding out just how in the world our cells work in order to fix the best we can fix things like cancer, tumors, terminal diseases, and brain swelling among many others. In Cheating Death, the reader gets a nice look at what kinds of revolutionary new techniques are being used across the world to save patients that would have normally been given a finite amount of time to live and then die. For example, hypothermia can actually be used to reduce swelling in crucial areas of the body and even the brain that can give doctors more time to work with the patient and see if there is anything they can do for them while the swelling goes down. In another instance, Dr. Gupta describes some of the bold techniques that involve actually operating in the uterus on the unborn child itself to save it from potentially fatal pre-birth defects and/or a shortened lifespan once born. As a science fan, I was the most intrigued when Cheating Death discussed the out of body experiences that people can have when they are in cardiac arrest or in some form of "brain death". I've always wondered if these experiences were just made up out of either the person's religious beliefs or something else. The answer from the book is that it's not 100% clear just what causes these episodes. Some physicians believe it is the lack of oxygen to the brain that causes these experiences while others believe cardiac arrest/brain death can induce a form of REM-intrusion sleep and that is how people have near death experiences. The big questions that this topic presents are those such as is consciousness something that can or cannot be separated from the mind? Who knows? Can God actually be generated by stimulating certain parts of the brain only?

Cheating Death doesn't fully answer these questions, but it definitely gets the reader thinking about just how complex and philosophical these questions can be sometimes and also just the subjective nature of them. There does seem to be a little bit of tension over whether Dr. Gupta's interviews/science behind some of his chapters are correct or not. Thus far only one person on this product page has actively made it his mission to troll every reviewers comments and criticize the book. As someone that's taken a few human anatomy and physiology classes, at least 80% or so of what Dr. Gupta wrote down in Cheating Death seems pretty accurate. Again, I'm not a neurosurgeon but it seems fairly petty to nit pick over details of what people do or do not consider to be brain death, comas, vegetative states, semi vegetative states, etc. It's a complicated topic that's very much open to interpretation. To say someone is dead wrong when the leaders in the field of neuroscience are not even 100% sure of the difference between brain death and vegetative states seems a little over the top. I'd like to genuinely hear from other practicing physicians and/or medical students on this matter since it seems to be causing some discord among those who have reviewed the book so far. I like the fact that we all have our opinions and can certainly criticize a book if we choose to. However, I disagree with unfair criticism when it's constantly being spouted off by just one reviewer and no one else (aside from one time reviewers and reviewers that have long gaps in between each review). I'd like to hear what others have to say as well that actually have some medical knowledge behind them.

Overall, I took this book for what it was - which was an enjoyable read and a book that the pages flew by in as I learned a bit more about the history of medicine and how different it is today versus back then. If the author happened to confuse some controversial terms and got them wrong is a matter of opinion. It didn't stop me from enjoying the overall product of Cheating Death. It's not a perfect book but it's a nice piece of the puzzle that keeps us up to date with the latest techniques/therapies in medicine and for that reason alone I'd recommend picking it up. It's a relatively short book at 256 pages and definitely not a door-stop! :)

-Travis S.

It really disappoints me that instead remaining true to his medical oath, he has chosen to misguide people in his sensationalistic book. In the end this book will not only confuse people even further on topics regarding brain death/vegetative states, but also make it harder to save lives when people who trust Dr. Gupta ultimately make the wrong decisions based on his "facts."

Although he seems like a good guy on TV, Dr. Gupta's take on issues surrounding death are deeply troubling in that he makes a fundamental error. It appears that Gupta does not understand the difference between a permanent vegetative state and brain death. This difference is fundamental to any understanding of the death experience, and yet Gupta gets it wrong! One wonders if this conflating of two very different medical situations was done purposefully so his story would "work better". If so, spinning something this serious just to sell books is more troublesome than just getting it wrong.

There can be no disputing Dr Gupta's charismatic and knowledgeable nature. What can be disputed, however, is his relentless confusion about comas, persistent vegetative states and brain death. As long as those considered experts - indeed, those glamorized for their expertise - continue to perpetuate misinformation, the public will continue to misunderstand. It is akin to the "telephone" game played by children; the first phrase uttered is never the same as the last. In this instance, physicians (who are not on television) who understand brain death try to explain, and the conversation ends with Gupta's erroneous and famous statements. To suggest someone "recovers" from brain death is to say someone is a "little pregnant." Although it seems crass, the finest analogy is thus: a towed car is not running. It is moving because it is being towed. Individuals in brain death, who remain on circulatory support, are not alive. Machines have taken over the function of their organs. I do wish Gupta would use his celebrated position to share facts, not fiction.

Interesting information but I don't like the way it was written. It is sort of an alarming book for someone who is not medically educated. I am a nurse and my neighbor a doctor but we felt it was dry.

One of the most inspiring books I have ever read. As a premed major myself, I appreciate the different medicinal cases and how death is literally cheated. I learned many life lessons and medicinal terminology. It is most certainly a good read.

A brilliant look at faith and medicine. Everything made so much sense.
A very intelligent expose of human experiences.

I really enjoyed this book, Sanjay Gupta is amazing. He is a neuro surgeon and the medical corospondant for CNN, so he is well versed in modern medicine as well as being an experienced orator. The result is magic. He is able to clearly explain the different topics and discuss their significance in a way that both acknowledges their scientific aspect and yet remains comprehensible to the lay person. The book focuses on medicine as it relates to death and dying. He discusses everything from cryogenic freezing to out of body experiences. It varies from the well documented scientific to the more ethereal speculative. It's extremely interesting and well worth the time if you are interested in how current advances have blurred the line between life and death.