What is the treatment for cardiac arrest?

Question

Hi doctor,

My aunt had cardiac arrest 10 days ago. After a gap of 5 to 10 minutes, she has become unconscious. They put her on a ventilator. Till date, she is on a ventilator, and there is no recovery registered. Previously, she had two stents for breathing issues. Her magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) report is attached herewith. Doctors have said there is no further hope. Kindly guide what should be our next step.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand the situation.

At times, during cardiac arrest,if the brain does not get enough blood for a few minutes, then the brain gets damaged. Once damaged, then brain recovers only minimally. That is the reason why your doctors said no hope. I would like to know about her GCS (Glasgow coma scale) score at present and brainstem function assessment report. You can ask for an interim report in your hospital. In that, you can request them to add these two things. If her GCS is 2T and the brainstem functions are absent, then there is no hope. In that case, you can opt for do not escalate the treatment.You can talk to your doctor about this, and they will understand it.

Thank you.