Can someone die on life support?

Yes. All its doing is keeping the basic functions going. The brain and other organs can still give out.

Brain death is very hard to quantify, as the exact point at which activity has totally ceased is impossible to identify.

Yes, your body can only live so long on dialysis machines or artificial hearts etc... You could also die of something totally unrelated :P.

Life support is an artificial way of maintaining life - so not until life support is discontinued can this person pass.

The only way a person can die on life support is if someone pulls the plug. Life support is just that. When everything in your body fails, machines are used to substitute for the real thing. The machines support the life of organs and tissues until they are donated or the machines are turned off.

Yes, life is defined by brain activity. Life support can maintain a beating heart and respirations, but all brain activity can be gone. A family may opt to keep the person on life support at this point in order to make the ultimate gift of organ donation.

Only if it is
switched off.
Usually if someone is on life
support, they are clinically dead
its the machine thats keeping them
alive. but there is always hope.

yes

Life support usually means having respirations provided by a ventilator. This is a machine that fills the lungs with air so the blood can be oxygenated. This is a support that is intended to bridge ...until the patient can breath for themself. Such as, a drug overdose (i.e. heroin) that has knocked out mechanism to breath. When the drug level gets low enough or a narcotic antagonist drug is given ...the patient may begin to breath on their own. This is just one circumstance...there are many different ones.

BUT, in other cases a ventilator is nothing more than a futile trial. The lungs continued to deteriorate to the point that life can not be sustained (with pneumonia and/or chronic obstructive lung disease)...even with the ventilation machine. These people can die on life support.

A person can have their respirations supported on a ventilator and STILL have a "cardiac arrest" ...where their heart stops beating. This person would die on "life support".

A person can be on a ventilator...have an overwhelming infection that causes "shock" ...there is a circulatory collape and their blood pressure drops to the point that they would die. Doctors and nurses try to compenstate with IV drugs and antibiotics before that happens but, there are times that is futile as well and the patient dies.

They can draw lab work that shows trends if they are improving, getting worse. There comes a point where it is pretty obvious that it is hopeless. They might even do EEG...which looks for brain activity...this indicates that the brain is dead (if no activity). This indicates the person is clinically dead. This usually means the person is in a vegetative state with no hope for recovery (especially if repeated and same findings). Sometimes there can be a very basic brain stem function...that allows for breathing but no compacity for thought or motor activity ...there are neurological signs of that also (decerebrate/decorticate). In either case...the person would die unless extrodinary means are taken...tube feedings, IV's etc. This person would fit the definition of "clinically dead" (if no brain activity). Even with extraordinary measures are taken the outcome will be death. If the brain stem is allowing for respirations...this is again a person that utilimately will die.

There can be supplemental oxygen in greater concentrations than can be found normally in room air. This is to try to compenstate for when the lungs and circulation is so bad that normal oxygen concentration would not sustain life. This is monitored with "blood gases" and the ventilator is adjusted accordingly. There are treads that can be noted that indicate that efforts are going to be futile. This is correlated with other pathology of the respiratory system and other systems. For example, does the person have a terminal cancer with spread to other organs? In some situations ...to continue only to have an end result of death or to be in a vegetative state ...having to be sustained with tube feedings and IV nutrition is only treating the family. The family is persisting because they don't understand or can't face the reality. That is why the have a "living will" so family will understand the patients wishes not to be artificially maintained when there is no reasonable hope of recovery.

There can be hepatic failure (liver failure) that you can die while on life support. You can also have renal failure (kidney failure) that without dialysis you would die.

There has been research that has collected detailed data that provides accurate assessment. Experienced doctors and groups of doctors usually have a pretty good idea of the course of illness...however, they most always refrain from being direct ...unless it is very very clear. You have to treat the family too in these situations. They need understanding and sensitivity. Often they don't say anything too direct unless specifically asked...meaning that the person asking is demonstrating they can handle the answer or they wouldnt be asking. They might answer in broader terms and not specific to the case.

It really is a tuff place to be as a family member....that is why the "living will" and "durable power of attorney for healthcare" is so important. The patient has given a written legal document of what they want the doctor to follow so family will not have to be tortured with how to handle end of life issues.

You asked a really complex question...sorry it turned into a lecture. I hope this was just a curious question and you are not in a circumstance to have to address some of these concerns with a friend or family member. There is a "next of kin" that is followed for making healthcare decisions. Every hospital has persons designated to explain all this in detail.

You can email me if you want.

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