# Shot through the heart, is death instantaneous?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-through-the-heart-is-death-instantaneous/531511>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 6, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-through-the-heart-is-death-instantaneous/531511 "2010-03-06T05:24:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 3

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**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-through-the-heart-is-death-instantaneous/531511/3 "2010-03-06T05:45:01Z")

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The brain has about 4 minutes of oxygen, so no, a heart shot isn’t instant death\*. In fact, depending where the heart is injured, it’s remotely possible to survive. That would only be if sophicated medical care was immediately at hand.

\*I have sad personal knowledge of this. My grandfather shot himself in the heart. I was the first to reach him. He was able to say my name before he died.

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