Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency treatment that tries to restart your heart and breathing when they have stopped.
While CPR can help some people, it does not work on people who are already very ill or frail. Where an illness is already affecting very seriously someone’s whole body, restarting their heart isn’t going to solve the problem.
If CPR is unwanted by the individual or would be ineffective, a ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR) form can be completed. A DNACPR form is designed to protect someone from being subjected to aggressive CPR treatment when it has no chance of stopping them dying.
You and your healthcare team can discuss if you would benefit from CPR.
In this short film, Dr Kathryn Mannix explores the potential use of CPR in different situations.
Further Information
- What do I need to know about CPR? A summary by Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief of some key issues relating to DNACPR.
- Scottish Government information - Cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions: information for patients, relatives and carers
- Talk CPR website - a Welsh website providing information about DNACPR for the general public in various formats
Photo by SHOX art.
