CPR might also seem to lack benefit when your quality of life is so poor that no meaningful survival is expected even if CPR were successful at restoring circulatory stability. Only you can judge your “quality of life,” especially if you experience a chronic illness. Be aware, however, that your own feelings about future quality of life may very well change as your life experience and physical health changes, especially if you are presently healthy and active.
CPR might also seem to lack benefit when your quality of life is so poor that no meaningful survival is expected even if CPR were successful at restoring circulatory stability. Only you can judge your “quality of life,” especially if you experience a chronic illness. Be aware, however, that your own feelings about future quality of life may very well change as your life experience and physical health changes, especially if you are presently healthy and active. In this regard, there is substantial evidence that patients with such chronic conditions often rate their quality of life much higher than healthy people judge them. Nevertheless, there is probably consensus that patients in a permanent unconscious state possess a quality of life that few would accept. Therefore, CPR is usually considered “futile” for patients in a persistent vegetative state.
