[Aeolun]

> verifying death by confirming there's no heart wall movement

Is that something you can use for verifying death? It was my impression that people can still be revived in that state (not easily, but…). Is this just popular misconceptions speaking?

[judge2020]

> people can still be revived in that state

Yes, via the American Heart Association:

> Conclusion: Resuscitation efforts to achieve ROSC, contributing to neurologically intact survival, are needed for at least 38.5 minutes in patients with witnessed OHCA.

OHCA: Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/circ.128.suppl_2...

[hackernewds]

Worries me that in a lot of hospitals, esp in developing countries, the heart rate is still taken as the default indicator for life.

[ok_dad]

Some cultures and individuals don’t cling to life at all costs.

[sdoering]

Out of inability due to missing tech or out of other reasons like culture or belief systems?

[fuckstick]

The commenters you’re replying to have no idea what they’re talking about. There’s virtually no where on earth where basic and advanced cardiac life support isn’t performed, especially in hospitals.

“In a lot of hospitals, esp in developing countries, the heart rate is still taken as the default indicator for life.”

That’s just nonsense on multiple levels. A person in Vfib or pulseless electrical activity has a “heart rate” but they are inevitably going to die without intervention - they are just as dead as someone with asystole. So nowhere in the world is a heart rate an indicator for life - that isn’t a cultural issue that’s a basic physiology one.

A lack of heart rate is not a necessary nor sufficient indication of death!

The medical indications for basic and advanced cardiac life support are clearly understood throughout the world at this point.

Cultural attitudes towards CPR vary - some of that has to do with education as well. It’s a complicated subject, but Hacker News comments don’t seem to be the most fruitful place to have that discussion.

Reducing CPR to “clinging to life at all costs” is not coming from an informed point of view. CPR performed on a 25 year old otherwise healthy trauma victim and a 95 year old with heart failure are not comparable.