fundamentals
Treatment Options at the End of Life
Resuscitation
The act of trying to revive a person whose heart and breathing have stopped (resuscitation) includes measures such as chest compressions, rescue breathing, drugs, and electrical shocks. Resuscitation is the only treatment provided automatically in the hospital unless specifically decided otherwise in advance (called a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Orders ). Resuscitation efforts can be prohibited by advance care planning, whether a formal Because resuscitation at best returns people to the state they were in before their heart stopped, it is not beneficial for people who are coming close to death, for whom the stopping of their heart is simply the final event. Such people are overwhelmingly unlikely to respond to resuscitation. The very few who do respond survive only briefly and often without return of full consciousness. The decision to forgo an attempt at resuscitation makes sense for most people expected to die soon, and such a decision need not weigh heavily on the family. 