yes you can live for a few seconds until your brain dies. the definition of death varies but the cessation of a heart beat and the cessation of brain activity signals the end. i would not have liked to be a victim of the ancient aztecs -- the ones that pulled your beating heart from your chest. you can also live with an artificial/mechanical heart until a transplant has been found and attached so technically you are living without a biological "heart".
can you live without a heart? . i have a science school project that is all about the heart! can you fill me in?