How should the patient’s quality of life be considered?

CPR might also seem to lack benefit when the patient’s quality of life is so poor that no meaningful survival is expected even if CPR were successful at restoring circulatory stability. Judging "quality of life" tempts prejudicial statements about patients with chronic illness or disability. There is substantial evidence that patients with such chronic conditions often rate their quality of life much higher than would healthy people. Nevertheless, there is probably consensus that patients in a permanent unconscious state possess a quality of life that few would accept.

CPR might also seem to lack benefit when the patient’s quality of life is so poor that no meaningful survival is expected even if CPR were successful at restoring circulatory stability. Judging "quality of life" tempts prejudicial statements about patients with chronic illness or disability. There is substantial evidence that patients with such chronic conditions often rate their quality of life much higher than would healthy people. 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.