Part 3: Ethics

The goals of resuscitation are to preserve life, restore health, relieve suffering, limit disability, and respect the individual's decisions, rights, and privacy. Decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts are often made in seconds by rescuers who may not know the victim of cardiac arrest or whether an advance directive exists. As a result, administration of CPR may be contrary to the individual's desires or best interests.1,–,3 However, practice is evolving as more emergency physicians reportedly honor legal advance directives in decisions about resuscitation.4,–,7 This section provides guidelines for healthcare providers who are faced with the difficult decision to provide or withhold emergency cardiovascular care.Healthcare professionals should consider ethical, legal, and cultural factors8,9 when caring for those in need of CPR. Although healthcare providers must play a role in resuscitation decision making, they should be guided by science, the individual patient or surrogate preferences, local policy, and legal requirements. Principle of Respect for Autonomy10The principle of respect for autonomy is an important social value in medical ethics and law. The principle is based on society's respect for a competent individual's ability to make decisions about his or her own healthcare. Adults are presumed to have decision-making capability unless they are incapacitated or declared incompetent by a court of law. Truly informed decisions require that individuals receive and understand accurate information about their condition and prognosis, as well as the nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives of any proposed interventions. The individual must deliberate and choose among alternatives by linking the decision to his or her framework of values. Truly informed decisions require a strong healthcare provider–patient relationship/communication and a 3-step process: (1) the patient receives and understands accurate information about his or her condition, prognosis, the nature of any proposed interventions, alternatives, …