Do not attempt CPR

A DNACPR (do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation) decision records that, if your heart and breathing stop (a cardiopulmonary arrest), your healthcare team should not try to restart them with CPR. A cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack, which is a blockage in the blood supply to the heart. A DNACPR decision is about CPR only: you will still get all the other care and treatment that is right for you.

It is not a form you fill in yourself. A DNACPR decision is made and recorded by your healthcare team, ideally after talking it through with you. We strongly recommend that you discuss your wishes about CPR with your doctor or care team, so they know what matters to you. If you want to refuse CPR in advance yourself, you can also say so in an advance directive.

When there is some chance that CPR may bring someone back from cardiac arrest, and to a length and quality of life that they would want, they should be offered:

• The chance to be given clear and accurate information about their condition and the likely risks and benefits from CPR if they should suffer cardiac arrest
• The chance to express their beliefs and wishes.
• The chance to make a shared decision with their health professionals on whether or not they should receive attempted CPR if they should suffer cardiac arrest.

The resulting ‘CPR decision’ would then be recorded either as a decision that attempted CPR would still be appropriate if they should suffer cardiac arrest or as a DNACPR decision.

When a person is dying from an advanced and irreversible condition, where CPR will not work and could cause harm, health professionals have to explain this. Such decisions are made to try to ensure that people receive the care that they need as they are dying. It also aims to make sure that people are not subjected to physical treatment that will deprive them of a dignified death.

However, there is every possibility that CPR could prolong a person’s life, that it could fail, or that it may cause harm. The likelihood of each of these possibilities will vary according to each person’s situation at the time. Each person will have their own view of whether they would or would not wish to have CPR in their individual circumstances.

NHS Inform explains how decisions about CPR are made in Scotland, and what to ask: Decisions about CPR.

The Scottish Government’s leaflet for patients, relatives and carers: Decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation.