As the moment of death comes nearer, the person's breathing may slow down and become irregular. It might stop and then start again or there might be long pauses or stops between breaths. This is sometimes known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
A person who experiences agonal respiration may stay alive for five minutes. There is a possibility to revive the person after that. But according to MedlinePlus.gov, within five minutes of oxygen depletion, brain cells begin to die. Within 10 minutes, significant organ and brain damage may occur.
On average, a patient usually lives for about 23 hours after it begins. During this time, loved ones should try to say their goodbyes. The death rattle sound can occur until the person takes their final breaths.
As the patient becomes weaker and/or loses consciousness, they can lose the ability to clear their throat or swallow. This results in a wet, rattling sound as the patient breathes in and out through the secretions.
As the moment of death comes nearer, breathing usually slows down and becomes irregular. It might stop and then start again or there might be long pauses or stops between breaths . This is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing. This can last for a short time or long time before breathing finally stops.
Gasping respiration in the dying patient is the last respiratory pattern prior to terminal apnoea. The duration of the gasping respiration phase varies; it may be as brief as one or two breaths to a prolonged period of gasping lasting minutes or even hours.
Death rattle usually becomes audible 24 to 48 hours before death (6,7). Reducing the distress among listeners has been conventionally treated through attempts to reduce or eliminate patient noise.
The death rattle signals that death is very near. On average, a person usually lives for around 25 hours after the death rattle and the dying process begins.
In the hours before death, most people fade as the blood supply to their body declines further. They sleep a lot, their breathing becomes very irregular, and their skin becomes cool to the touch. Those who do not lose consciousness in the days before death usually do so in the hours before.
They might close their eyes frequently or they might be half-open. Facial muscles may relax and the jaw can drop. Skin can become very pale. Breathing can alternate between loud rasping breaths and quiet breathing.
A dying gasp is a message (or signal) sent by the customer premises equipment (CPE) to equipment managed by an internet service provider to indicate that the CPE has lost power. Also known as last gasp.
Agonal breathing is a near-death condition where a person gasps and moans. Their face may grimace as if they're in pain. But, like with agonal rhythm, a person experiencing agonal breathing isn't in agony. Most likely, they're unconscious and what you see is only a reflex.
This pattern or respirations is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing, named for the person who first described it, and usually indicates that death is very close (minutes to hours).
As the blood pools, patches appear on the skin within 30 minutes of death. About two to four hours postmortem, these patches join up, creating large dark purplish areas towards the bottom of the body and lightening the skin elsewhere. This may be less apparent on darker skin. This process is called livor mortis.
This difficult time may be complicated by a phenomenon known as the surge before death, or terminal lucidity, which can happen days, hours, or even minutes before a person's passing. Often occurring abruptly, this period of increased energy and alertness may give families false hope that their loved ones will recover.
What Death Rattle Means. The "death rattle" is a gurgling sound you may hear when people die. Because they can no longer swallow or cough, saliva builds up in the back of the throat and upper airways. The fluid causes a rattling sound when air passes through.
Your loved one may seem to be working hard to breathe -- even making a moaning sound. The moaning sound is just the sound of air passing over very relaxed vocal cords. This indicates that the dying process is coming to an end.
Agonal breathing is sometimes confused with a different phenomenon referred to as “death rattle.” Death rattle is more of a gurgling noise caused by mucus or saliva that is caught in the chest as a person is dying. By contrast, agonal breathing is an often brief period of abnormal breathing.
Changes in breathing
Your breathing may become less regular. You may develop Cheyne-Stokes breathing, when periods of shallow breathing alternate with periods of deeper, rapid breathing. The deep, rapid breathing may be followed by a pause before breathing begins again.
Your heart stops beating. Your brain stops. Other vital organs, including your kidneys and liver, stop. All your body systems powered by these organs shut down, too, so that they're no longer capable of carrying on the ongoing processes understood as, simply, living.
The end-of-life period—when body systems shut down and death is imminent—typically lasts from a matter of days to a couple of weeks. Some patients die gently and tranquilly, while others seem to fight the inevitable. Reassuring your loved one it is okay to die can help both of you through this process.