End-of-Life Decisions: Deactivating An Implanted Defibrillator

Implantable cardio-verter defibrillators (pictured on the left) are placed in a patient’s chest to detect and correct irregular heartbeats.  While these devices save lives when the patient is healthy, it can cause discomfort and pain if not deactivated when the patient is dying from an unrelated illness.  

A recent AP article reports that according to the American Heart Association, deactivating a defibrillator is an ethical end-of-life decision and according to studies, it is a decision that doctors do not routinely address when end-of-life decisions need to be made.  Estate planners assisting clients with disability and end-of-life planning, however, could include this issue in documents prepared in order to bring it to the attention of loved ones and doctors.

See Lauran Neergaard, Implanted Defibrillator Can Shock the Dying, AP, March 16, 2010.