If the termination date arrives and it still seems wise to use the life-support system, you can re-authorize life-supports for another period of time. Wiki User August 03, 2009 3:21AM. Turning off Life Support for a Loved One or Signing a Do Not Resuscitate Form - Duration: 2:36. Life support can also become a permanent necessity for some people to stay alive. If there is no hope of recovery, then one needs to have a proxy stating their wishes about life support. Clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) often care for patients who are on several life support measures at once. Kinds of Life-Support Decisions Ventilators . Dying people should be kept on life support. I know of somebody who had a heart attack two and a half weeks ago. It can also prolong life for people who are recovering from traumatic injuries. Whenever you authorize life-support systems —for yourself or for others—you ought to set a termination date for such treatment if it does not prove to be successful. The spirit of a person is awesome and what it can do. It is difficult to say how long someone can hang on after life support, can be hours or days. When should life support be discontinued, honoring a patient’s right to refuse medical intervention? Question Posted by: Stephanie | 2005/08/15 H ow long on Life Support after a Heart Attack on Average ?. The tissue gets worn out, your circulatory system gets worn out, your major organs fail and we can't duplicate things like what your liver does with a machine or drugs. Typically when a person thinks of life support, he may envision the most complex levels of care, such as mechanical ventilation and kidney dialysis. Ventilators can save lives by helping people who cannot breathe on their own. Long-term use of tube feeding frequently is given to people with irreversible and end-stage conditions. If the termination date arrives and it still seems wise to use the life-support system, you can re-authorize life-supports for another period of time. Types of Life Support. Long-term artificial nutrition and hydration may be given to people with serious intestinal disorders that weaken their ability to digest food, and helping them to enjoy a quality of life that is important to them. Dying people should be kept on life support because they should have the chance like everyone else to have the gift of life, and also be able to do all the things that everyone else does to conclude to never lose hope and be faithfull positively thinking can … That’s the whole point of life support. The time that a person spends on life support depends on their underlying condition--people do get well.