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I have always understood that when an individual dies, the heart stops beating. If my loved one is brain dead, why does the heart continue to beat?

April 26, 2017beating brain Continue dead heart individual Loved Stops understood

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I have always understood that when an individual dies, the heart stops beating. If my loved one is brain dead, why does the heart continue to beat?

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The heart has its own pacemaker independent of the brain. As long as it has oxygen, it continues to beat. The heart could actually be removed from the body, placed in a saline solution, given oxygen, and still continue to beat. Therefore, the brain can be dead and the heart continues to beat for a length of time.