What causes some people to die instantly or remain conscious/unconscious?

Question

I'm wondering in incidents when people die or in this instance get killed (homicide, accidents), what determines them dying instantly or their bodies taking on a slower, more painful death? I'm genuinely curious, thanks.

Answer 1

it solely depends on the point of failure...

critical organs such as the heart or brain can lead to instant death when they fail.

logically the effect of what you go through depends on the extent of failure... for example a heart attack can cause pain, shortness of breath and a feeling of impending doom... but wont necessarily kill you... if your heart stops for whatever reason however... you are dead nearly instantly.

degrees of suffering are induced by a combination of the organ or system that is failing, the rapidity of the failure, and the severity of the failure...

for example, liver failure will lead to death... but it depends on how long it takes the liver to completely fail, how long the other systems can compensate and if there is treatment or not...