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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
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A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation
Published on: February 28, 2012
The potential role for automatic external defibrillators in palliative care units
1Pilgrims Hospice, East Kent NHS Trust, Margate, Kent, UK. andrew_thorns@pilgrimshospice.org
Palliative Medicine
|July 29, 2003
Summary
Palliative care units question cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) due to potential harms. However, automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) may create a moral imperative to offer CPR, sparking debate on balancing treatment with peaceful death.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Emergency Medicine
- Palliative Care
Background:
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is increasingly scrutinized in palliative care settings.
- Concerns exist regarding CPR's potential harms versus its success rate in certain patient populations.
- Palliative care units (PCUs) face ethical dilemmas regarding the initiation of CPR.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the ethical considerations of initiating CPR in palliative care.
- To examine the role of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in the context of PCUs and CPR.
- To discuss the balance between active treatment and the goal of a peaceful death.
Main Methods:
- Ethical analysis of CPR in palliative care.
- Review of literature on CPR, AEDs, and palliative care.
- Discussion of moral imperatives and decision-making frameworks.
Main Results:
- CPR initiation in PCUs is debated due to potential harms and low success rates.
- AEDs offer a potential to increase survival rates and simplify CPR delivery.
- The availability of AEDs may strengthen the moral obligation to offer CPR to select patients.
Conclusions:
- AEDs may shift the ethical landscape for PCUs regarding CPR provision.
- A critical debate is needed to define the boundary between appropriate CPR and interference with a peaceful death.
- Careful patient selection remains paramount when considering CPR in palliative care.
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