Experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: significant others' lifeworld perspective

When patients suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA), significant others find themselves with no choice about being there. After the event they are often left with unanswered questions about the life-threatening circumstances, or the patient's death, or emergency treatment and future needs. When it is unclear how the care and the event itself will affect significant others' well-being, prehospital emergency personnel face ethical decisions. In this article we describe the experiences of significant others present at OHCA, focusing on ethical aspects and values. Using a lifeworld phenomenological approach, 7 significant others were interviewed. The essence of the phenomenon of OHCA can be stated as unreality in the reality, which is characterized by overwhelming responsibility. The significant others experience inadequacy and limitation, they move between hope and hopelessness, and they struggle with ethical considerations and an insecurity about the future.The study findings show how significant others' sense of an OHCA situation, when life is trembling, can threaten values deemed important for a good life.