Barbara Bush's End-of-Life Decision Stirs Debate Over 'Comfort Care'

Former first lady Barbara Bush's recent announcement of her decision to seek "comfort care" coincides with a national push to define and document older persons' wishes, and consider alternatives, before they are subjected to medical interventions aimed at prolonging life, reports Kaiser Health News . "It makes perfectly good sense at her age, with her failing health, that she would say at some point, 'Life's been good, and while you always want more, it's enough,'" says Dr. Joanne Lynn at Altarum Institute. However, Dr. Haider Warraich at Duke University Medical Center says the Bush family announcement also sows confusion about the meaning of comfort care, with the suggestion that it involves the cessation of medical treatment. Palliative care experts have been refuting that mischaracterization on Twitter. "One of the common myths about palliative care is that they are being denied medical help," Warraich notes. He says comfort care for people with heart failure typically means opting not to use a breathing machine or CPR. Yet recipients still receive medical treatment, including morphine to ease shortness of breath, and diuretics to remove excess fluid from their lungs. "By bringing this into the sphere of discussion, we can start thinking about comfort and palliation long before they are in the clutches of death," Warraich argues.