I’ve never understood the concept of “instant” death in cases where, say, someone’s heart gives out or aorta gets severed, or something happens to their neck, etc. “So and so died instantly.”
What does instant mean? And how does someone go from alive to brain dead that quickly?
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Depends on your definition of “instant” and the level of technical accuracy you’re interested in. “instant death” isn’t a defined medical term, so it’s really in the eye of the beholder. Even if you stuck your head next to a nuclear bomb that then exploded, death isn’t technically INSTANT.
As far as extremely rapid death goes, typically this requires sudden and severe damage to the brain. Even if your heart suddenly stopped, the brain doesn’t start dying unless it stops getting bloodflow for 3-4 minutes. Something like a severed aeorta being referred to as “died instantly” might instead mean “Instantly was subjected to an injury virtually guaranteeing eventual death”, however again this isn’t a technical term.
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