Gas embolism as a potential cause of death by helium poisoning - postmortem computed tomography changes in two cases of suicidal helium inhalation.

Helium-induced death has been described as rapid and painless, among others in the publication based on filmed cases of assisted suicide by oxygen deprivation using helium [1]. Hence the observed dramatic rise in helium inhalation suicides worldwide [2 –7]. Helium inhalation has been also more and more widely advocated as a means of assisted suicide in terminal patients [1,2,8,9]. The reported mechanism of death in the case of helium inhalation is rapid asphyxiation due to oxygen deprivation. The lack of dyspnea before death has been associated with the fact that people who inhale helium can freely exhale carbon dioxide, maintaining low blood CO2 levels as a result.
Source: Legal Medicine - Category: Forensic Medicine Authors: Tags: Case Report Source Type: research