I knew a guy who died by shooting himself in the heart. How long would it have taken him to die and how painful was it?

[Weebster]

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[downndone2]

If direct to the heart and punctured a lung, pretty quickly. But I'm sure it wasnt a pleasant end, if only a min or two

 

[Achlys]

Not what you asked for, but what if you miss? Perhaps I'm ignorant in the subject of anatomy (re: I am), but I'd be worried about missing the heart and writhing in agony for longer than expected.

 

[Weebster]

Not what you asked for, but what if you miss? Perhaps I'm ignorant in the subject of anatomy (re: I am), but I'd be worried about missing the heart and writhing in agony for longer than expected.

I'm not asking because I want to do this. I'm asking because he was a good man and I want to know how his end was

 

[SuicideBoys93]

I'm not asking because I want to do this. I'm asking because he was a good man and I want to know how his end was

I'm convinced if you're conscious when dying there will always be slight discomfort prior to your brain realizing this is the end and flooding you with endorphins prior to death to help ease the fact that you're checking out for good. Those that get lucky with dying in their sleep are ones who don't feel the pain/discomfort.

 

[Weebster]

I'm convinced if you're conscious when dying there will always be slight discomfort prior to your brain realizing this is the end and flooding you with endorphins prior to death to help ease the fact that you're checking out for good. Those that get lucky with dying in their sleep are ones who don't feel the pain/discomfort.

Do you think he felt regret? He had teenage children.

 

[SuicideBoys93]

Do you think he felt regret? He had teenage children.

Not something I could answer. I'm sure he felt some sort of sadness for the idea of leaving behind his children. Regret? Something we'll never know.

 

[Achlys]

I'm not asking because I want to do this. I'm asking because he was a good man and I want to know how his end was

That wasn't my intention with my post, so I apologize if it seemed that way. I probably shouldn't have said 'you'. I meant it more hypothetically.

 

[downndone2]

I'm not asking because I want to do this. I'm asking because he was a good man and I want to know how his end was

I'm so sorry for your loss. Certainly it was quick but I wouldnt say painless. We all experience pain when we die to some degree. I had a friend who hung himself and left an 18yr old daughter. But we all knew he was broken. He thought he was going to lose his wife and after a fight he impulsively did it, he didnt see any other way.

 

[Sleepdrifter]

If the bullet successfully penetrated the heart at close range and in the appropriate position, he would have lost consciousness in seconds due to shock and the rapid drop in blood pressure to the brain, and death would have followed shortly after. If he only partially wounded the heart, death could have taken much longer, from 30 minutes or even hours, but again they'd have likely passed out in minutes, if less.

 

[BigG91]

.

I think only he could answer that because since he shot himself I'm guessing no one was around.

 

[Weebster]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Certainly it was quick but I wouldnt say painless. We all experience pain when we die to some degree. I had a friend who hung himself and left an 18yr old daughter. But we all knew he was broken. He thought he was going to lose his wife and after a fight he impulsively did it, he didnt see any other way.

That's sad. It's weird I didn't really know the guy. I was a kid when I knew him. He was really cool. His wife was really mean. He made sure she would be the first one to find him.

If the bullet successfully penetrated the heart at close range and in the appropriate position, he would have lost consciousness in seconds due to shock and the rapid drop in blood pressure to the brain, and death would have followed shortly after. If he only partially wounded the heart, death could have taken much longer, from 30 minutes or even hours, but again they'd have likely passed out in minutes, if less.

That's good

 

[FallingGrace]

You can at least be sure of his intention. People who shoot themselves in the head risk survival with massive brain damage and/or facial deformation. A shot to the heart tends to be a lot truer, if slightly longer to unconsciousness and death. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[brashwriting]

It all depends on if he hit his heart. I know of someone who shot themself in the heart but missed. They attempted on Friday night and were found, alive, Sunday afternoon.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

I don't know. Might be something that has to be checked out and timed for how long it takes until death arrives. Why, are you volunteering for the study?

 

[Dot]

Nt sre bt hve Bn Jvi in hd nw

 

[TheDoomedDoomer]

It probably wasn't an instant death. The person likely suffered for a few minutes before death depending on what caliber was used. I knew a guy who's uncle was killed in a drive-by. They shot him with 12 gauge buckshot in the chest at a gas station. Don't know the distance from which the shot was fired but he literally walked 2 blocks back to his place and collapsed on the front porch and died. They said there was a blood trail and he had a chunk of his chest blown out.

 

[MyStateKilledMe]

This is a great thread. Shooting or stabbing myself in the heart was my method of choice when I first became suicidal at age 6. I already knew from kindergarten science that the heart was a life organ. So I realized that destroying my heart was a fast path to destroying myself.

That said, I later learned that the heart is located inside the ribcage between the lungs. with the ribs being there to protect the vital organs. I confirmed it from looking at my chest X-rays from hospital procedures as an adult. So a banal gun shot or knife stab isn't a guaranteed way to rupturing the heart; you could hit the bony sternum instead of the cardiac tissue, and survive! The gun angle has to be very precise: from the bottom angled up, and pointed from either left or right, not the direct middle, in order to bypass the sternum. If you never had an X-ray done on yourself as an adult, a Google search of "chest X-ray" should be of some help; your own X-ray is best, though. Police blotters (crime statements) and autopsy reports about gunshot victims may be helpful as well.

Well, that's my speculation from looking at the X-ray images. The reality may vary; don't take my word as gospel.

 

[Medicmedic72]

Up to 8 excruciating minutes. Depending on the caliber, heart function, age, pre-existing conditions and if there was enough actual blood loss or if the blood collected in the chest cavity slowing impeding the heart function.

 

[lessonlearned]

extremely painful i'd imagine, he would be able to feel it and it would take a couple of minutes, unlike a gun to the head

 

[Medicmedic72]

extremely painful i'd imagine, he would be able to feel it and it would take a couple of minutes, unlike a gun to the head

Depending on where the bullet enters the brain it could be instantaneously brain dead, which means no respiratory effort. If brain dead, no pain... but the heart doesn't know this for several minutes and just keeps doing it's thing until it runs out of oxygen.

 

[Weebster]

It probably wasn't an instant death. The person likely suffered for a few minutes before death depending on what caliber was used. I knew a guy who's uncle was killed in a drive-by. They shot him with 12 gauge buckshot in the chest at a gas station. Don't know the distance from which the shot was fired but he literally walked 2 blocks back to his place and collapsed on the front porch and died. They said there was a blood trail and he had a chunk of his chest blown out.

So just full on agony?

extremely painful i'd imagine, he would be able to feel it and it would take a couple of minutes, unlike a gun to the head

Why would someone choose that way? I do recall he did it in his bed and timed it to make sure his wife found him before his kids did.

 

[Alex6216]

Why would someone choose that way? I do recall he did it in his bed and timed it to make sure his wife found him before his kids did.

Emotions, they didnt truly want to die, they didnt know any better.
There's a lot of reasons really.

 

[Thatdude]

This all depends. Like in war in some areas they load their soldiers with drugs. After blowing out their heart, they can fight for a full minute or so.

If the person is relax, the maybe not long at all.

The thing about pain however is you might of gotten a cut or something and it taken a good few minutes before you start to feel the pain. Same here. It is possible that they might not felt anything depending on things.

IMO it is better to aim for your spinal cord or other like areas. Like this cuts off any ability of feeling pain due to it cutting off the area. If you can take out the entire brain then that is better since the brain will stay alive until it's out of o2

 

[Mtnwildflowers]

I took care of a person who survived a suicide attempt from trying to shoot herself in the heart. She instead shot her lung and ended up in the icu for 3 months. Discharged home alive

 

[Weebster]

Emotions, they didnt truly want to die, they didnt know any better.
There's a lot of reasons really.

I took care of a person who survived a suicide attempt from trying to shoot herself in the heart. She instead shot her lung and ended up in the icu for 3 months. Discharged home alive

Why did you force them to keep living in hell?

 

[MyStateKilledMe]

I took care of a person who survived a suicide attempt from trying to shoot herself in the heart. She instead shot her lung and ended up in the icu for 3 months. Discharged home alive

It's unfortunate, but it makes sense. A gun shot to the heart is a very unrealistic goal to pull off. The heart is located behind the bony ribcage, and its sturdiest part, the sternum, to boot. So angling the gun barrel correctly to ensure an instant kill for oneself is very hard for your average suicidal person. So don't try it!

The best bet is to aim for the brainstem instead. The stereotypical "gun in the mouth" method has a higher chance of hitting the brainstem and killing oneself, than the "gun in the chest" method has of hitting the heart and doing the same. After all, when the modern humans first evolved 2 million years ago, the human body already knew how to protect its chest organs against the primitive weapons that already existed. But 2 million years is still too short for the human body to evolve to protect the brain against the crude firearms invented in the Middle Ages (circa 1000 A.D.), let alone the modern handguns like the 0.375 Magnum.

 

[Weebster]

It's unfortunate, but it makes sense. A gun shot to the heart is a very unrealistic goal to pull off. The heart is located behind the bony ribcage, and its sturdiest part, the sternum, to boot. So angling the gun barrel correctly to ensure an instant kill is very hard for your average suicidal person.

The best bet is to aim for the brainstem instead. The stereotypical "gun in the mouth" method has a higher chance of hitting the brainstem and killing oneself, than the "gun in the chest" method has of hitting the heart and doing the same. After all, when the modern humans first evolved 2 million years ago, the human body already knew how to protect its chest organs against the primitive weapons that already existed. But 2 million years is still too short for the human body to evolve to protect the brain against the crude firearms invented in the Middle Ages (circa 1000 A.D.), not to mention modern handguns like the 0.375 Magnum.

I want to live in the ancient world. You can defend yourself from attackers and not go to jail unlike in the modern world where a cop or judge will ask,"Did you first try running away or calling the police?" Lunacy

 

[Mtnwildflowers]

Why did you force them to keep living in hell?

Because in my career, murder is frowned down upon. You are asking this question like I had a choice. It wasn't my place to judge what brought the person in. My job was to help the person medically. You can't place judgements on why people end up in a hospital. I'm not god. The person isn't in a responsive, conscious place to be speaking for themselves. If the person turns out to be one of the suicide attempts that goes on to want to live, so be it. If they attempt again, their choice. If it were up to me, people could end their lives peacefully. Your question insinuates I have any say in "forcing" the person to live. What would you do ..murder the person? That's your solution? You think you could go on living as a muderer?

It's unfortunate, but it makes sense. A gun shot to the heart is a very unrealistic goal to pull off. The heart is located behind the bony ribcage, and its sturdiest part, the sternum, to boot. So angling the gun barrel correctly to ensure an instant kill for oneself is very hard for your average suicidal person. So don't try it!

The best bet is to aim for the brainstem instead. The stereotypical "gun in the mouth" method has a higher chance of hitting the brainstem and killing oneself, than the "gun in the chest" method has of hitting the heart and doing the same. After all, when the modern humans first evolved 2 million years ago, the human body already knew how to protect its chest organs against the primitive weapons that already existed. But 2 million years is still too short for the human body to evolve to protect the brain against the crude firearms invented in the Middle Ages (circa 1000 A.D.), let alone the modern handguns like the 0.375 Magnum.

Yes, I've only ever seen one gun shot to the head survive, and he did it wrong. He shot under his chin and just ended up blowing facial structures off. Didn't hit any brain matter. He was happy to survive as he was 19 and did it impulsively after his girlfriend broke up with him. She stayed with him after that..

 

[Weebster]

Because in my career, murder is frowned down upon. You are asking this question like I had a choice. It wasn't my place to judge what brought the person in. My job was to help the person medically. You can't place judgements on why people end up in a hospital. I'm not god. The person isn't in a responsive, conscious place to be speaking for themselves. If the person turns out to be one of the suicide attempts that goes on to want to live, so be it. If they attempt again, their choice. If it were up to me, people could end their lives peacefully. Your question insinuates I have any say in "forcing" the person to live. What would you do ..murder the person? That's your solution? You think you could go on living as a muderer?

Yes, I've only ever seen one gun shot to the head survive, and he did it wrong. He shot under his chin and just ended up blowing facial structures off. Didn't hit any brain matter. He was happy to survive as he was 19 and did it impulsively after his girlfriend broke up with him. She stayed with him after that..

Why didn't you interpret their blood splatter as a written DNR? Don't you have any compassion?