flatliner
No pulse detected
A flatliner is someone whose vital signs have gone flat—whose heart has stopped, producing the horizontal line on a cardiac monitor rather than peaks and valleys.
Medical dramas use the term for patients who've coded: We've got a flatliner in room three.
Extended to mean someone showing no activity or response: The project's been a flatliner since January.
The verb flatline works similarly—to die or to stagnate completely.
Abrupt cessation of circulation
- asystoleZero cardiac electrical activity
- defibrillatorHeart-shocking medical device
- resuscitationRestoring vital functions
- CPREmergency revival technique
pulseless · code blue · chest compressions · life support · clinical death · revival · electrocardiogram · intubation
Unwakeable unconsciousness
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- lifelessDevoid of animation
- inertInactive, physically or chemically
- motionlessLacking all movement
pulseless · nonresponsive · vital signs · braindead · vegetative · gone · fading · slipping away
Lacking edge or interest
- monotonousUnchangingly dull
- uninspiredLacking creative spark
- lacklusterLacking brilliance or vitality
- lifelessDevoid of animation
no energy · deadpan · unexciting · wallflower · snooze
- near-death experienceVision when almost dying
- afterlifeExistence beyond mortality
- 1990Final decade's start
- medical thrillerSuspenseful fiction set in healthcare
experiment · revival · visions · supernatural · sequel · remake
cardiac arrest
Abrupt cessation of circulation
- asystoleZero cardiac electrical activity
- defibrillatorHeart-shocking medical device
- resuscitationRestoring vital functions
CPR · pulseless · code blue · chest compressions · life support · clinical death · revival · electrocardiogram · intubation · ventilation
coma
Unwakeable unconsciousness
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- lifelessDevoid of animation
- inertInactive, physically or chemically
motionless · pulseless · nonresponsive · vital signs · braindead · vegetative · gone · fading · slipping away
dull
Lacking edge or interest
- monotonousUnchangingly dull
- uninspiredLacking creative spark
- lacklusterLacking brilliance or vitality
lifeless · no energy · deadpan · unexciting · wallflower · snooze
Kiefer Sutherland
- near-death experienceVision when almost dying
- afterlifeExistence beyond mortality
- 1990Final decade's start
medical thriller · experiment · revival · visions · supernatural · sequel · remake
paramedic
Prehospital emergency caregiver
911 · siren · rescue · triage · stretcher · medevac · first responder · crash cart · urgent · lifesaver
flatlinersurvivor
One still alive after
resuscitated · vital · breathing · beating heart · alive and kicking
flatlinerlive wire
Electrified conductor or dynamo
dynamo · go-getter · high achiever · overachiever · mover and shaker