To CPR or Not CPR

Do you want CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) if you suddenly collapse without pulse or breathing?

Does matter your age and health status?

I have seen so many, from the seemingly well athlete to the frail elder, suddenly collapse while doing their usual day-to-day stuff. Up and about to down and out

Do you want a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order? I have seen DNR tattooed to chest and DNR jewelry.

An important consideration, beyond your age and health status, is just how successful is CPR anyway? TV gives you a false sense of the possibilities. TV codes have a 60-70% success rate. Real-life CPR not so much, in real life return of heart beat happens about 25% of the time. The kicker here, however, is that few of those folks survive to leave the hospital. Only about 8% of those that receive CPR outside of the hospital, survive to leave the hospital (the numbers aren’t much better for those that require CPR in the hospital.

The secondary problem with these folks who survive needing CPR is that only 25% of them are as mentally intact as they were before the CPR.

To CPR or not CPR, that is the question.

We can talk about your situation at End-0f-Life Table Talk, NFP.