"Mechanical compression with blood vessels in the neck causes a reduction in oxygenation of the brain, leading to cerebral hypoxia/ischaemia, anaerobic metabolism, and acidaemia/acidosis (similar to the effects of cardiac arrest on the brain (Longstreth 2001).
The term “asphyxia” is commonly used in the forensic literature to describe this sequence, but it is not a term used in clinical practice, except in relation to “birth asphyxia”, a situation that has also been criticised (Depp 1995).
The term “asphyxia” - literally meaning without a pulse - should be avoided, according to the Goudge Inquiry (Goudge 2008), as it is too unspecific a term.
Alternative mechanisms of death following pressure to the neck include some form of neurologically-mediated cardiac arrest, stimulated by mechanical compression of neck structures such as the carotid sinus, and carotid body."- forensicmed.co.uk