Help Needed

[Bob Prudhomme]

I thought that JFK was still periodically breathing when he arrived at Parkland, which surprised the doctors.

The Summary of Appendix VIII of the Warren Commission Report, which contains the medical reports of the doctors who worked on JFK and John Connally, gives us the following excerpt. This summary was written by Dr. Kemp Clark, Director of Neurological Surgery.

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo/app8.htm

"Dr. Carrico noted the President to have slow, agonal respiratory efforts. He could hear a heartbeat but found no pulse or blood pressure to be present. Two external wounds, one in the lower third of the anterior neck, the other in the occipital region of the skull, were noted. Through the head wound, blood and brain were extruding. Dr. Carrico inserted a cuffed endotracheal tube. While doing so, he noted a ragged wound of the trachea immediately below the larynx."

Agonal breathing, from Wikipedia:

"Agonal respiration, gasping respiration or agonal breathing is an abnormal pattern of breathing and brainstem reflex characterized by gasping, labored breathing, accompanied by strange vocalizations and myoclonus.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP]:164, 166[/SUP] Possible causes include cerebral ischemia, extreme hypoxia or even anoxia. Agonal breathing is an extremely serious medical sign requiring immediate medical attention, as the condition generally progresses to complete apnea and heralds death. The duration of agonal respiration can be as brief as two breaths or last up to several hours.[SUP][1][/SUP]The term is sometimes (inaccurately) used to refer to labored, gasping breathing patterns accompanying organ failure (e.g. liver failure and renal failure), SIRS, septic shock, andmetabolic acidosis (see Kussmaul breathing, or in general any labored breathing, including Biot's respirations and ataxic respirations). Correct usage would restrict the term to the last breaths before death.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
Agonal respirations are also commonly seen in cases of cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest where agonal respirations may persist for several minutes after cessation of heartbeat.[SUP][1][/SUP] The presence of agonal respirations in these cases indicates a more favorable prognosis than in cases of cardiac arrest without agonal respirations. In an unresponsive, pulseless patient in cardiac arrest, agonal gasps are not effective breaths. Agonal respiration occurs in 40% of cardiac arrests experienced outside a hospital environment.[SUP][2][/SUP]
Agonal respiration is not the same as, and is unrelated to, the phenomenon of death rattle."

As the Wikipedia article states, agonal breathing is not true effective breathing but, rather, the last ditch efforts of the brain to obtain oxygen just prior to death occurring. This is why I take to task anyone who tries to argue JFK died instantaneously when the last shot passed through his skull. Although death was inevitable at this point, JFK clung stubbornly to life all the way to Parkland.

It is interesting to examine Dr. Clark's other statement in the summary:

"He could hear a heartbeat but found no pulse or blood pressure to be present."

At first, it may seem that Dr. Clark is contradicting himself, for how could he hear a heartbeat, yet find no pulse?

First, it must be remembered that, with the great loss of blood JFK experienced, he would, of course, be in hypovolemic shock by the time he reached Parkland. As people go into shock from low blood volume, the first thing the body does, in self defense, is to shut down the blood supply to the extremities (arms and legs). Naturally, a radial pulse would not be found in JFK's wrist.

Second, between the low blood volume, and the fact major arteries in JFK's brain had been severed, allowing any pumped blood to simply run into the cranial wound, there would be no back pressure at all in JFK's circulation system, and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to find a carotid pulse in JFK's throat.

Therefore, it is quite conceivable JFK had a weak and rapid heartbeat yet, by all conventional detection methods, had no pulse.

JFK was alive (just barely) when he arrived at Parkland and, had his wounds not been so severe, was at a point when death could have easily been averted.