Your Pet’s Surgical Visit: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Information & Consent

As part of our commitment to the highest standard of care, we ask all surgical patients’ guardians to make a decision about their pet’s resuscitation preferences before the day of surgery. This allows you time to review information and consider your options without the pressure of a same-day decision.

What is CPR in Veterinary Medicine?

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure performed if your pet’s heart or breathing stops while under our care, most commonly during anesthesia or in recovery.
CPR involves:

Chest compressions to keep blood flowing to vital organs
Assisted breathing using oxygen and medications to restart the heart and lungs

We do NOT perform open-chest CPR (open thoracotomy) at our clinic.

What Does CPR Look Like?

Emergency drugs may be given
An endotracheal tube is used to deliver oxygen
Staff will continue efforts for up to 15–20 minutes or until a successful outcome is reached or the decision is made to stop

CPR may sometimes bring a patient back temporarily, but not always permanently. Further intensive care may be necessary if your pet regains a heartbeat.

What Are the Survival Rates?

Success can vary greatly:

Young, healthy, anesthetized patients—such as most routine surgery cases in our hospital—have the highest chances of successful resuscitation: up to 35-50% may temporarily respond and 10–15% may recover to discharge.
Older or critically ill pets, or those with underlying health problems: the chances are significantly lower (often below 5–10%).

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the majority of pets do NOT survive to discharge after CPR, especially if they are high-risk or have chronic illness.

Additional Information

Fee: If CPR is required, there is a flat fee of $200 to cover the cost of emergency drugs, equipment, and staff time.
No open-chest interventions will be performed.
CPR is a heroic, invasive procedure, and outcomes cannot be guaranteed.
After CPR, ongoing intensive care and/or referral may be required, with associated additional costs.

Your Options

Yes, attempt CPR if my pet suffers cardiac/respiratory arrest
No, do NOT attempt CPR (DNR / Do Not Resuscitate)

We strongly encourage you to discuss this with your family, and let us know your preference before your pet’s procedure.
You will be asked to sign a consent form during surgical intake, but we hope this lets you prepare in advance.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call our team prior to your pet’s appointment.

Thank you for trusting us with your pet’s care,

Arrowsmith Animal Hospital