NursingLink

That  too is a broad subject.Many factors have to be considered, as in medical history,reason for life support.Meds that pts are on,and how active were they prior,smoker?drinker?You need to narrow it down a little more, to get accurate ,good information.

Depends entirely on quality of life.  Did the patient have a good QOL prior to the incident that is likely to put him/her on life support?  If so, it probably should be tried, unless they now have something (massive brain damage, terminal cancer, etc.) that is reasonably likely to kill them very quickly.  In that case, NO.  I have done CPR on people 85 and up, and when you do chest compressions, you hear (and feel) something like chicken bones cracking and breaking.  This is an indication that you are breaking all the ribs and separating the sternum from them; and is likely not to turn out well at all (punctured heart, lungs, liver).  It is hard to give up, especially for the family, but think whether or not YOU would want to live like that.  The patient's doctor should have earned his (big) money and, after talking to the family, determined before this whether or not the patient is a "no code."  I hate to see the family having to make this decision when they really have no idea what is happening.  To have a person on a vent for 2 weeks or 2 months and turning into a 'train wreck' (failure of one organ after another)  is just awful.  I worked in CCU for 18 years.