Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving technique that can help someone who has stopped breathing or whose heart has stopped beating. It is performed by using chest compressions and rescue breaths to circulate oxygenated blood around the body, which can restart the heart.
Learning how to conduct CPR is essential because it could save someone’s life if needed in an emergency situation. Learning how to perform CPR is not tough. One can become an expert at saving lives with the most basic training. In this article, readers who don’t know about the process will get some insights.
How to respond to someone needing CPR?
First, check for a pulse and breathing in the unconscious person. If you are trained in CPR, check for a pulse by placing your fingers on the side of the person’s neck (preferably just below their ear) and gently feeling for a pulse.
In case you can’t find a pulse, start chest compressions immediately by placing the heel of one hand in the center of the patient’s chest. Place your other hand over that hand and interlace your fingers together, forming an “X” shape with both hands resting on each other.
Begin pumping straight down at least two inches into their chest at 100 beats per minute. Repeat until help arrives or if it has been 10 minutes since first initiating CPR without success.
What to remember before performing CPR?
The best way to know if an unconscious person needs CPR is to check for breathing. If you’re unsure whether the person is breathing, or can’t find a pulse, perform CPR.
The first step in performing CPR is making sure you’re in a safe environment and have an immediate backup. Call 911 while you try to wake up the person by tapping their shoulder and shouting at them loudly.
If they aren’t waking up after 10 seconds of tapping, shout louder and continue checking for a pulse until help arrives.
Knowing how to perform CPR can be life-saving.
CPR can save the life of a person who is not breathing and has no pulse. The sooner you start CPR, the better your chance of saving someone’s life.
The American Heart Association estimates that more than 100,000 people in the United States are saved each year by bystanders who provide CPR. Knowing what to do in an emergency situation is essential whether you’ve been trained to perform it or not.
Learning how to perform CPR is a great way to save someone’s life. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), over 40% of people who suffer cardiac arrest die because they don’t reach the hospital on time. The chance of survival decreases by 10-20% if CPR is not performed on time.
Wrapping Up
Although knowing how to perform CPR is critical, it’s important to remember that CPR is not a magic cure-all and should only be used as an emergency measure. If someone is unconscious but still has a pulse, their best bet for survival is to reach the hospital as soon as possible.
If you’re ever in doubt about whether it’s safe for you to perform CPR on someone who needs it, always call 911 instead.
