Life & death decisions.

@BlueVeins Ready? - I'm not sure what that would mean. I'm a lot more 'at ease' with the idea than I used to be. It's still a bit scary some days but not as terrifying as it used to be. Other days I think hey, I could quite happily just drift away right now. And of course how I feel about it will have no influence. I'm 'healthy for my age' which means barring violent accident I could have another week or 10+ years, who knows.

@Really I hope I approach it with as much grace as you are. I wouldn't want to spend my last month or so withering away in a hospital after a heart attack either.

@BlueVeins Thanks. I don't think I've been called graceful before - and who knows whether I'll be graceful later on ....

@Jeephikelove I'm probably using the wrong title for the actual instruction.

@Really ohhh

@Jeephikelove I should not have used the term DNR. Here's a website that may be helpful.

@Picklebobble2 You are assuming a person who is old should not say that the best treatment for them at their stage of life is to die.

CPR is not like you see in movies and tv which typically show about an 85% success rate.

In 2010 a review of 79 studies, involving almost 150,000 patients, found that the overall rate of survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest had barely changed in thirty years. It was 7.6%.

Bystander-initiated CPR may increase those odds to 10%. Survival after CPR for in-hospital cardiac arrest is slightly better, but still only about 17%. The numbers get even worse with age.

Your health after CPR is most likely to be compromised due to inadequate oxygen.

So to die might be preferable to many of our aged people.

The World Medical Association version of the Hippocratic Oath now reads as follows: `At the time of being admitted as a Member of the Medical Profession, I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity. I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due.

@Zeusdelight I assume nothing.
And as we all know statistics are collected and used to promote anything the user wishes them to.

This, to me, sounds like a cop-out from the medical profession to avoid the idea that an elderly patient might actually benefit from cpr and may even survive the treatment but it comes with the risk that those doing it (correctly or not) put themselves at risk of litigation if, as a result, they cause subsequent injury during it that later leads to possible prosecution as a potential cause of death in the patient.

@Picklebobble2 I fully expect my doctor to respond to my medical questions and concerns; if not I'll be looking for another doctor. And 'harm' - as in 'Do no harm' - can be judged & experienced differently by the patient than the doctor. If so, whose wishes should prevail?

Which raises an interesting thought: Why should I let my life be subject to someone else's interpretation of an ancient oath in whose formulation or swearing I had no part? 🧐 🙂

@smiler2012 Smiler, without punctuation your comment is very ambiguous and I'm not sure what it means. Anyway I suppose the protocols around resuscitation vary among countries, jurisdictions and even local hospitals. It's problematic trying to define 'what's best' in future situations we maybe can't even anticipate. If my heart has stopped, whatever happens to me will be decided by others with or without respect for my prior 'edicts': So be it.