Episode 125: 2025 AHA Updates

The Overrun

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11d ago 42:33

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The 2025 AHA Guidelines have ignited a powerful, emotional conversation inside EMS and hospital systems. In this eye-opening episode, Ed Bauter, Dan Schwester, and Dr. Mike DeFilippo confront a controversial but crucial question:

Are we performing CPR on people we know will not benefit—and is that causing more suffering than saving?

With new evidence, emerging ethical dilemmas, and shifting expectations around end-of-life care, this episode forces us to examine long-held assumptions and look at CPR through a more honest, patient-centered lens.

Link to the official AHA 2025 summary:
https://cpr.heart.org/-/media/CPR-Files/2025-documents-for-cpr-heart-edits-posting/Resuscitation-Science/252500_Hghlghts_2025ECCGuidelines.pdf?sc_lang=en

Key Insights You Don’t Want to Miss

CPR is not universally life-saving—and often causes devastating harm in the wrong populations.
Ethical medicine requires avoiding meaningless interventions that prolong suffering.
Patients with severe dementia, frailty, terminal illness, or irreversible decline see almost no benefit from CPR.
Age, cognitive status, and functional baseline must influence our decisions.
The culture of “CPR for everyone” is being replaced by evidence-driven, compassionate care.
EMS providers must balance clinical realism with patient autonomy and dignity.
The new AHA updates demand a dramatic shift in how clinicians communicate and act during cardiac arrest.

If this conversation challenged your thinking, share it with a colleague.
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