The general clinical sequence of a victim who
is being strangled is one of severe pain, followed
by unconsciousness, followed by brain
death. The victim will lose conscious-ness by any one or
all of the following: blocking of the carotid
arteries (depriving the brain of oxygen), blocking of
the jugular veins (preventing deoxygenated
blood from exiting the brain), and closing off the
airway, causing the victim to be unable to
breathe.
Only eleven pounds of pressure placed on both
carotid arteries for ten seconds is necessary to
cause unconsciousness.4 How-ever, if pressure is released
immediately, consciousness will be
regained within ten seconds. To
completely close off the trachea, three times as much pressure
(33 lbs.) is required. Brain death will
occur in 4 to 5 minutes, if strangulation persists.