RELEASE ON RECEIPT







	                                   CONTACT: Katherine Jackson	

             U.VA. MEDICAL SCHOOL RECEIVES GRANT TO STUDY NEAR-DEATH 
                       EXPERIENCES OF HEART ATTACK PATIENTS

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., Oct. 11--The nation's first grant to study the 
experiences of people who have nearly died was awarded to the University of 
Virginia recently.    
	A $250,000 two-year grant from the Institut fur Grenzgebiete der 
Psychologie und Psychohygiene in Freiburg, Germany, will enable U.Va. 
psychiatrists to study experiences reported by heart attack patients who were 
near death or thought they were.  
	"Unusual near-death experiences, such as a feeling of leaving the 
body or seeing a bright light, are often accompanied by after-effects that 
shift life's perspective after such experiences," said Dr. Bruce Greyson, 
professor of psychiatry. "Patients may lose their fear of dying or have a 
decrease in concern with material possessions, " he said.  
	Patients who have had unusual experiences during hearts attacks of 
various types will be compared with persons who have had heart attacks, but 
no such experiences, said Dr. Ian Stevenson, project director. 
	"The grant is intended to allow us to study the after-effects on the 
well-being of people who have come close to death," added Stevenson.
	U.Va. doctors also wish to learn more about persons having unusual 
experiences under other near-death circumstances, such as near-drownings, 
vehicular accidents and electrocutions. To report such  experiences write to 
Dr. Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia Division of Personality 
Studies, Box 152, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA  22908.       
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                                                          October 10, 1995