Where did flatlining come from?
A standard sign of death on TV and film seems to be someone's heart rate machine flatlining with a long, drawn out BEEEEEEEEEEP.
However, this is not what actually happens - apparently this noise just means the machine is unplugged.
Does anyone know when this 'movie fact' first started?
Best Answer
Here is a medical products company video of a Siemens SC 7000 patient monitor which starts off with the flat-lining sound. If you watch and inspect the configuration menus, you'll see that a wide variety of sounds can be configured for any of several conditions: high and/or low heart rate, high/low partial-pressure of oxygen saturation, high/low partial-pressure of carbon dioxide, high/low arterial pressure, high/low breathing rate.
With an old-fashioned single purpose cardiac monitor like the Graseby PM 3, those beep on every heartbeat, and are quiet at first when there is no heartbeat, but then gives the flat line sound after a few seconds.
Why do you think the sound is not genuine?
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Does Flatlining mean death?
It almost always refers to either a flatlined electrocardiogram, where the heart shows no electrical activity (asystole), or to a flat electroencephalogram, in which the brain shows no electrical activity (brain death). Both of these specific cases are involved in various definitions of death.What causes a flatline?
Asystole is when your heart's electrical system fails, causing your heart to stop pumping. This is also known as \u201cflat-line\u201d or \u201cflat-lining\u201d because it causes your heart's electrical activity to look like a flat line on an electrocardiogram.Can you live after flatlining?
Death is not a linear process. New research finds that it's fairly common for the heart to restart \u2014 usually just for a beat or two \u2014 after a person initially flatlines. No one in the study, which took place in intensive care units (ICUs) in three countries, survived or even regained consciousness.What is meant by flatlining?
/\u02c8fl\xe6t.la\u026a.n\u026a\u014b/ the condition of being at a very low level and not increasing: Shelter costs were up 3%, despite the flatlining of home prices.FLATLINE: How The Amiga Languished
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