Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is a method of restoring a person's breathing if his or her heartbeat has stopped. The two components of CPR include chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing. The American Heart Association developed a CPR program for doctors in 1960, and in 2010, the organization released new CPR guidelines, putting a priority on compressions rather than clearing the airway first. If CPR is immediately administered to a person in cardiac arrest, his chances of survival increase dramatically. So by learning CPR, you could save a life.
Instructions
Preparation
1. Check the scene for safety. For example, take care to redirect traffic from the area.
2. Call 911 or assign someone else to do so. If a crowd gathers, put some to work helping you and ask the others to back away to give the victim as much privacy as possible.
3. Kneel next to the victim and gently shake or tap him and call out to him. If he doesn't respond, carefully roll him onto his back.
Performance
4. Start chest compressions by placing the heel of your hand on the center of the victim's chest and your other hand on top with fingers intertwined.
5. Press down at least 2 inches at a rate of at least 100 times per minute to send blood to vital organs.
6. If you are CPR-certified, you can proceed to open the airway by the head-tilt/chin-lift method. Push back on the forehead and lift the chin by putting your fingers on the bony part of the chin.
7. Pinch the victim's nose to close it. Take in a normal breath, tightly cover the victim's mouth with yours and give two, one-second breaths. Look to see if the chest rises.
8. Continue at a rate of 30 compressions to two breaths until help arrives or the victim starts to move.
Tags: chest compressions
