Ethical minefield of bringing back the dead

Having seen cardiac arrests in action - chest compressions, defibrillation, intubation - most friends and colleagues in acute health care would choose not to be resuscitated, unless the chances of coming out alive, cognitively and physically intact, far outweighed the discomfort and risk. Yet we increasingly subject our patients to futile care, painful and expensive tests, which will not change outcomes and treatments that prolong, but do not improve, life. Sidney Morning Herald