Yes but I guess what I am asking is, can a lack of oxygen stop the heart? I suppose the easy answer is “yes it is possible” but how common is that? Usually (my impression only) it’s the other way around. Lack of oxygen is caused by bad pulmonary system, drowning, sitting in a running car in a closed garage, or a heart attack. Can lack of oxygen cause cardiac arrest? My impression is that the heart will continue to pump, it just won’t be pumping oxygen and then the other organs will fail. Then the heart will stop. But as always I am open to correction and education.
Floyd’s autopsy report listed the weight of his lungs which was above the range. When he said he couldn’t breathe, he could breathe but limited oxygen was transferring to his blood due to the fluids.
I’d bet his blood oxygen level was below that needed to support life.
COVID destroys the heme in red blood cells which meant the existing red blood cells would be limited in transporting oxygen. The pathologist should have measured the ferritin level in his blood.
I’m not sure if that changes with death.
Now add fentynal to the mix.
The heart is a muscle. All muscles require an oxygen supply to continue to function properly. Yes, the heart will continue to beat as the oxygen concentration in the blood gets lower and lower for whatever reason -— including strangulation. However, once the heart is starved for oxygen past a certain point, it gets a muscle cramp just like a leg or arm muscle. A heart cramp means no blood is flowing, unless the cramp releases and it starts beating again. This stop/start quickly becomes fibrillation, and then full stop. The other organs, including the brain, can remain alive for several to many minutes after cardiac arrest.
a lack of oxygen can cause fatal arrhythmias in the heart and technically a heart attack is a lack or oxygen to parts of the heart due to decreased blood flow. But you are correct that most of the time it happens the other way around