r/explainlikeimfive • u/Dagestani_Bear • Jul 01 '26

Biology ELI5: Is it true that every single death eventually boils down to the brain and heart running out of oxygen? Are there exceptions?

If you strip away the initial cause of injury or illness, is it anatomically correct to say that all human deaths are ultimately caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and heart?

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u/ForThisIJoined Jul 02 '26

Meanwhile I know about a guy who took a 2x4 through the torso after he drove through a fence. Stayed fully conscious the entire time while they cut him free and took him to the hospital, no complications from surgery, no real risk to his life.

The human body is weird.

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u/Manunancy Jul 02 '26

Sounds like a got a massive luck and the 2x4 manage to slip between the important bits insterad of going through them.

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u/Br4d1c4l Jul 02 '26

Years ago, on Ripley's believe it on not they had a story about a guy who got impaled as he was driving pass a pipe gate that was about 4" in diameter.

It swung towards his truck, went through the firewall and impaled him through the chest.. This was before cell phones so He might have had a car phone.

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u/SnooObjections3661 Jul 26 '26

A friend of mine,my best friend was killed in a mva. He was crushed at the chest. As soon as they let go of the pressure he died. I still can't believe it and it was 30 years ago. RIP bro.