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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Jul 14.
Published in final edited form as: Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2019 Apr 3;42(5):548–552. doi: 10.1111/pace.13641

TABLE 1.

Reasons for turing off a defibrillator vs. reasons for keeping a defibrillator turned on

Why would you want to turn it off? Why would you want to keep it on?

  • You may have a serious illness, in which case your defibrillator may not improve your life expectancy in a meaningful way.

  • Your quality of life may have declined.

  • You may not want to receive painful shocks as your life is ending.

  • You will continue to be treated for life-threatening rhythms.

  • Treatment for life threatening arrhythmias may prolong your life.

  • It is worth it to you to receive a painful shock to stay alive at this time.