Video of What is CPR after a cardiac arrest?
Hospitals usually ask about it when you are admitted: do you want to be resuscitated in the event of a cardiac arrest? Not an easy question. Erasmus MC made an information video for patients.
Cardiologist-intensivist Lucia Jewbali explains in the video what CPR means after cardiac arrest. Sometimes the circulation and breathing stop in a patient in the hospital. A life-threatening situation. Doctors and nurses try to get the blood circulation going again, which is called ‘resuscitation’.
Act of valor
In Hollywood movies, CPR looks like an act of heroism. A victim collapses. The hero jumps to his feet and gives the victim a breath, combined with some chest compressions. The victim opens his eyes, takes a deep breath, shakes his rescuer’s hand and continues happily.
brain damage
It’s not like that in real life. CPR has risks, explains cardiologist-intensivist Jewbali. Cardiac arrest can cause oxygen deprivation, which can damage the brain. This is a fear image for many people: ending up as a greenhouse plant. Fortunately, resuscitation in general has a good chance of success, without major lasting successes, according to research in the AMC. But if your health is already bad, you run a higher risk of recovering from CPR with brain damage, or of dying in a nasty way.
Grey area
But when is your health so bad that CPR is not a good idea? That question is not always easy for doctors to answer either. It’s a gray area. It depends on your condition, but also on the expectations you have of life. That is why everyone is presented with this question when they are admitted. You can then ask the doctor what your chances are with resuscitation and make a decision.
In some cases, doctors are already sure that CPR will not end well. In those cases they themselves deploy a ‘do not resuscitate policy’ for medical reasons. This is discussed with the patient and the family, according to the video.
