Low oxygen levels in the brain, or cerebral anoxia, are a leading cause of death worldwide. Patients who recover from cerebral anoxia deal with persistent neurological issues that worsen their quality of life. Building on previous work showing that brain–heart interactions can predict the severity of symptoms and survival, Diego Candia-Rivera, Sofia Carrion-Falgarona and colleagues from the Paris Brain Institute assessed whether brain–heart interactions in a rat model of severe oxygen loss can predict survival after resuscitation. The work is published in eNeuro.