A Professional & Personal Networking Site for all People related to Cardiology
Allowing Patients to Refuse VAD Support Is Ethical, Mayo Review Concludes
August 17, 2010 (Updated August 19, 2010) (Rochester, Minnesota) — Withdrawing ventricular assist device (VAD) support at the request of the patient or their surrogate is ethical and not tantamount to physician-assisted suicide, an ethics review published online June 28, 2010 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings concludes [1].
"Patients have the right to refuse or request the withdrawal of any unwanted treatment, and . . . this right extends to VAD support," Dr Paul Mueller (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN) and colleagues conclude. "The cause of death in these cases is the underlying heart disease, not assisted suicide or euthanasia."
More at Medscape
"Patients have the right to refuse or request the withdrawal of any unwanted treatment, and . . . this right extends to VAD support," Dr Paul Mueller (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN) and colleagues conclude. "The cause of death in these cases is the underlying heart disease, not assisted suicide or euthanasia."
More at Medscape
Views: 0
Comment
You need to be a member of CardiologyNetwork.com to add comments!
Join CardiologyNetwork.com