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More than a third of elderly, gravely ill hospital patients are tagged to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation even though they don’t want the painful and usually futile measure, concludes a new Canadian study.

The authors call the unwanted orders for CPR on the sickest patients a type of medical error, and say it’s the result of a communications breakdown hospitals need to confront.

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Despite heroic depictions of emergency resuscitation in popular entertainment, attempts to restart an arrested heart rarely save anyone’s life. They also take a toll both on patients and the family members who have to watch, says Dr. Daren Heyland, who headed the research.

“This is about invasive, aggressive, expensive life-sustaining treatments, used against people’s wishes,” said the critical care physician and Queen’s University professor.

“Most people’s concept of the dying moment is a tender moment, a warm moment, the family around you, holding your hand, preserving dignity. The reality for people undergoing resuscitation is the opposite of that.”