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Comment by jimt67 | Hacker News Reader

I thought this was thoughtful and well written but all I see is anecdote...there is no data presented that MDs choose different options than non-MD patients.

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Here is a study that backups the claim made in the article http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....

Thank you...exactly the type of information that should have been added to the article (and I should have found in search).

Adding to the anecdote, I'm a paramedic who has also opted for 'no heroic measures'. Even with CPR survival rates in this county being amongst the highest in the country.

Is breaking of the ribs really a requirement of CPR done correctly? My understanding was that it is possible for ribs to break but by no means a requirement of correct CPR as the article implies.

It depends. Depending on the age of the person and the fragility of the bones. It's not a "requirement" in any sense, more "if it's not a risk, you're not going deep enough" - typical standards call for 1/3 to 1/2 the chest depth.

As often as that - it's much more (almost guaranteed) that you'll tear the cartilage between the ribs at the front.

Do you have data disproving the anecdotes?

I don't, but when you title an article "How DOCTORS choose to die" (caps added for emphasis) you are making a generalization and supporting it with anecdote. I realize "Doctors' death stories" might be less attention-grabbing but more accurate. I did enjoy the article -- it resonated with me, but I still don't know if doctors choose to die any differently than the rest of us.

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