Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
Power of attorney – A legal document allowing one person to act in a legal matter on another’s behalf regarding to financial or real estate transactions.
Respiratory arrest: The cessation of breathing – an event in which an individual stops breathing. If breathing is not restored, an individual’s heart eventually will stop beating, resulting in cardiac arrest.
Surrogate decision-making – Surrogate decision-making laws allow an individual or group of individuals (usually family members) to make decisions about medical treatments for a patient who has lost decision-making capacity and did not prepare an advance directive. A majority of states have passed statutes that permit surrogate decision making for patients without advance directives.
Ventilator – A ventilator, also known as a respirator, is a machine that pushes air into the lungs through a tube placed in the trachea (breathing tube). Ventilators are used when a person cannot breathe on his or her own or cannot breathe effectively enough to provide adequate oxygen to the cells of the body or rid the body of carbon dioxide.
Withholding or withdrawing treatment – Forgoing life-sustaining measures or discontinuing them after they have been used for a certain period of time.
