CPR's true survival rate is lower than many people think

#67 · 🔥 207 · 💬 216 · 10 months ago · text.npr.org · rntn · 📷
In the 1970s, CPR classes were developed for the public, and CPR became the default treatment for cardiac arrest. The allure of CPR is that "Death, instead of a final and irrevocable passage, becomes a process manipulable by humans," writes Stefan Timmermans, a sociologist who has studied CPR. Related Story: Why writing a will and planning for your death is a 'lifetime gift' to loved ones. In 2015, researchers found that survival after CPR on TV was 70%. In real life, people similarly believe that survival after CPR is over 75%. Those sound like good odds, and this may explain the attitude that everyone should know CPR, and that everyone who experiences cardiac arrest should receive it. 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. One study found that less than 2% of patients with cancer or heart, lung, or liver disease were resuscitated with CPR and survived for six months. Two studies found that only 20-40% of older patients who survive CPR were able to function independently; others found somewhat better rates of recovery. Instead, if CPR would likely be futile, doctors could recommend "Allow natural death" instead of "Do not resuscitate," suggests Ellen Goodman, director of a non-profit that encourages end-of-life conversations.
CPR's true survival rate is lower than many people think



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