A Teenager’s Account of What He Experienced When His Heart Stopped

In December 2011, eighteen-year-old Ben Breedlove of Austin, Texas posted a video to YouTube that would be viewed millions of times. Using handwritten note cards held up to the camera, the teenager described what he experienced during the multiple occasions his heart had stopped throughout his life. One week after posting the video, Breedlove died of cardiac arrest on Christmas Day.

Born With a Serious Heart Condition

Breedlove was born with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that affected his heart’s ability to pump blood effectively. It was a reality that shaped his entire life. He could not participate in sports or engage in physical activities the way his peers did. A pacemaker was implanted to help regulate his heart rhythm. Despite the restrictions, those who knew him described a young man who carried himself with optimism.

The First Experience at Age Four

Breedlove recounted that his first brush with death came at age four, when he suffered a seizure. As nurses rushed him through a hospital corridor, he told his mother about a bright light above him. She said she could not see anything. But Breedlove described a sensation of overwhelming peace — his fear and worries dissolving completely. He wrote on one of his note cards: “I can’t even describe the peace, how peaceful it was. I will NEVER forget that feeling or that day.”

A Heart That Stopped During Routine Surgery

Months before his final video, Breedlove’s heart stopped during what was expected to be a routine tonsillectomy. Medical staff were able to resuscitate him. “It was a miracle that they brought me back,” he wrote. “I was scared to die but am SO glad I didn’t.”

The December 6 Incident at School

On December 6, 2011, while at his Austin high school, Breedlove felt faint and sat down on a bench. He lost consciousness. When awareness returned, he could not speak or move. He could only watch and listen as paramedics placed defibrillator pads on his chest. He heard them say his heart had stopped and that he had no pulse.

“I really thought to myself, this is it, I’m dying,” he wrote.

What followed was an experience he was uncertain how to categorize — a dream, a vision, or something else entirely. He described being in a featureless white space with no walls, extending endlessly in every direction. He found himself standing alongside musician Kid Cudi, both dressed in suits. He felt the same overwhelming peace and could not stop smiling. He described looking at himself in a mirror and feeling proud of his entire life and everything he had accomplished.

He then heard Cudi’s voice telling him “Go now,” and he regained consciousness.

The Video and Its Impact

Breedlove posted his two-part video on YouTube on December 18, 2011. His final note cards read: “I didn’t want to leave that place. I wish I NEVER woke up. Do you believe in angels or God? I Do.”

The video resonated far beyond his immediate circle. Kid Cudi himself responded publicly, writing that he had broken down in tears watching it. “This has really touched my heart in a way I can’t describe, this is why I do what I do,” the musician wrote. “I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad.”

A Family’s Perspective on His Passing

Breedlove died on Christmas Day 2011. His family chose to frame his passing not as a tragedy but as something aligned with their faith. “We know the Lord used the amazing life of our precious son to reach a weary world on Christmas night, just as He did over 2,000 years ago with his own Son,” they wrote in his death notice.

The story of Ben Breedlove entered the broader conversation about near-death experiences — accounts that continue to be studied, debated, and, for many, taken as evidence that consciousness extends beyond what medical science can currently explain.