1. Saving Lives
CPR stands for cardiopulmonary respiration and is useful is a variety of situations. This life saving technique can work on heart attack victims, drowning victims, and anyone else who’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped.
2. Training is Readily Available
It isn’t difficult to find CPR training near you. For a few dollars and a couple of hours, you can be trained in this important lifesaving technique. Even if you don’t have any official training in CPR, the American Heart Association still recommends that you do something. Do something, even if it is technically wrong, and doing nothing could be the difference between life and death for a person who’s heart is not beating.
3. Start with Chest Compressions
No matter how experienced or inexperienced you are, the American Heart Association advises you to start with chest compressions. If you are untrained, or have been trained in the past but feel a little rusty, simply do chest compressions at the rate of 100 per minute until help arrives. If you are trained and confident in your abilities, start with 30 chest compressions before checking for blocked airways and giving rescue breaths.
4. The Heart is the Most Important Thing
The heart’s primary job is to pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. When the heart stops, oxygen deprivation can cause permanent brain damage in just a few minutes. Death can occur in under ten minutes. That is why the American Heart Association believes that even untrained people should start chest compressions immediately. Keeping the blood flowing until medical professionals arrive on the scene can make a huge difference for the victim.
5. Seek Medical Assistance
If you are with someone else at the time of the crisis, one of you should call 911 while the other one begins chest compressions. If you are by yourself, call 911 before beginning CPR. The exception to this rule is if the person has become unresponsive due to suffocation, such as drowning. In this case, do chest compressions for one minute before calling 911.
6. It Takes Just a Few Steps
To perform chest compressions on an adult, place them on their back on a firm surface. Kneel next to their head and shoulders. Place the heel of one hand on the center of the victim’s chest, directly between their nipples. With your elbows straight and your shoulders directly above your hands, use your upper body weight to press straight down, hard enough to compress the chest about 2 inches. Continue with compressions at the rate of about 100 per minute. A trained person should check the airway after 30 compressions. An untrained person should continue with chest compressions until medical help arrives.
7. Dealing with Children
CPR on a child is essentially the same as for an adult. Trained individuals should perform five cycles of CPR (30 compressions and 2 breaths) before calling 911. Only use one hand for compressions and breathe more gently.
8. CPR on Infants
For a baby, the most likely cause of cardiac arrest is choking. You should first perform first aid for choking if you know that the baby as an obstructed airway. If you do not know the cause for the cardiac arrest, begin CPR. Use only two fingers to perform compressions at the same right of 100 per minute.