CPR is brutal, dishonorable, and few survive. That’s why I gave up, writes former top surgeon –

It was the first time I saw CPR being done on TV. I was a teenager—probably the American medical drama ER. Maybe he was the victim.

There was always a crazy scene of a doctor pumping blood to a patient whose heart stopped.

Someone was going to come in with defibrillator pads. Another said, ‘CLEAN!’ he would say. to call.

For a moment all hope seemed lost, and then the body came back to life. Relaxation everywhere. Before the credits rolled, the patient was talking, maybe even going home. It was moving, dramatic and captivating.

Years later, when I was a young doctor working in the emergency room on hospital wards, I saw it and really did – and it couldn’t have been more different.

CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation as it is officially known, is brutal and dishonorable.

It is given when the heart has stopped – so the sick person is actually dead – in the hope that it will bring him back to life. But it hardly ever works because it’s usually done on the sickest and weakest patients in the hospital.

Their clothes are being taken off so the assault team can put shovels on their chests, and there are paramedics everywhere.

Some feel their heartbeat, some purify their blood and vomit. noisy. Someone screams the number of chest compressions, growling as the doctors press on. Rib fractures are incredibly common due to the force required to make the heart work – you may feel the bones break.

If a patient’s heart begins to beat, the lungs may bruise or bleed. Damage to the brain and kidneys is not uncommon due to the time the heart spends without pumping blood throughout the body.

In 80% of cases where CPR is successful, the patient never leaves the hospital.

Two-thirds of them die within a few days. About two percent are neither dead nor actually alive in a long-term vegetative state.

The only time I’ve brought someone back while working in the ER was the man in intensive care for two weeks. Then we realized it would never recover and we had to turn off the fan. It was terrible for his family.

Later, as a breast cancer surgeon, I had to discuss all this with patients. Whether we want to be resurrected if our heart stops is a routine question doctors ask themselves when they hospitalize someone.

It may sound worrisome. However, it is important for them to understand that if someone is particularly sick and will not recover as with late-stage cancer, CPR will best slow the inevitable if their heart stops.

Recently, I faced my potential death after being diagnosed with breast cancer twice: first in 2015, at age 40, and then three years later.

Fortunately, my treatment was successful. But the experience has made me make some decisions about how I want to end my life. It wasn’t easy.

No woman wants to talk to her husband about how he could die for her. But it is very important that we express our wishes.

Specifically, I made it clear that if I came to the end of my life – if my cancer came back and my heart stopped beating – I didn’t want CPR.

Of course, if I have a sudden heart attack tomorrow when I am fit and healthy on the street and there is a defibrillator nearby, I would definitely want someone to try it on me.

But that’s because I have a chance to recover.

If I felt very bad, even though I was being treated at home or in the hospital, I would have been in even worse shape if my heart had been revived. And I don’t want to die like this.

I want to be in a bed surrounded by my family, not a team of doctors trying to resuscitate me. That doesn’t mean I won’t be treated. Away. But I want medical care to finally make me as comfortable as possible.

LIZ O’RIORDAN: I want to be in a bed surrounded by my family, not a team of doctors trying to resuscitate me. (archive photo)

Of course, there will be those who have long-term health problems who think otherwise. They might say: I still want to have a chance.

However, this should be a decision made after considering the facts. And that’s what I’m in for. No one can tell you what to choose.

For a healthy person whose heart stops unexpectedly, CPR offers a ten to twenty percent chance of survival when given within minutes.

There is still a significant risk of long-term harm, but the benefits far outweigh that.

If a person has serious long-term health problems and their heart stops unexpectedly, CPR has a lower chance of success – the heart may restart, but the body will likely not recover.

And if a person has terminal illness, is dying, and has significant damage to the lungs, liver, and kidneys, I think CPR is useless.

Restarting the heart cannot repair the damage done by the disease.

Of course, I was shocked like everyone else when I read that the “do not revive” order was written in the medical records of the elderly in nursing homes during the pandemic period.

And I’ve heard of cases where doctors misinterpreted events and caused discomfort. Not all doctors have a perfect sleep pattern.

In the hospital, if you are too weak to tell someone what you want, a senior doctor may decide not to do CPR if it does more harm than good – and your loved ones may find it difficult without careful discussion beforehand.

If you have a family member who has been hospitalized and is very sick, it is useful to raise the issue. If the desire is to invigorate, the doctors will try to honor it.

And after thinking about it, if you think you don’t want to be resurrected under certain circumstances, there are steps you can take to let people know that.

If you are currently being treated by a medical team, discuss your wishes with them.

There is a form called DNACPR – Do not attempt CPR that your doctor will fill out to keep in your medical notes.

That doesn’t mean you won’t get treatment, but if your heart stops, there’s no attempt to start over. This form is not legally binding.

If you want to make sure your closest relatives know about your wishes, you can make a will that allows you to refuse medical treatment.

Replaceable. It is used only when communication is not possible. Another way to let people close to you know about your needs.

You can complete it online by going to mydecisions.com. Then you print it and mail it or email copies to people who need to know.

Or you can call Compassion In Dying on 0800 999 2434, who can send a hard copy.

You don’t need a lawyer – in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, medical teams are required by law to follow what is written on the form.

Living wills in Scotland are not legally binding, but doctors generally respect them. And if you change your mind or want to change the form, create another form.

I made a living will. It was not pleasant. But I’m happy to know that CPR will save me and get me the death I want.