Sudden cardiac arrest is an extremely serious condition that requires immediate medical attention  and the appropriate CPR steps to be followed in order for the patient to survive. Although calling 911 is critical, there are steps that can be taken by almost anyone while waiting for an emergency response team to arrive. Knowing what to do can help tremendously in saving the person’s life. The best way to make sure that you are prepared for such a situation is by enrolling in a local CPR training course however; even those without CPR certification or formal first aid training can take some key steps in dealing with someone who has suffered a heart attack.

When someone experiences a heart attack, the heart stops pumping blood and CPR is designed to continue or begin delivering a small amount of blood to the heart in order to keep the brain and body function working until a physician or medical response team can take over. Defibrillation by trained personnel is then typically administered which can bring the heart back to normal.

The first thing to remember when encountering someone who needs help is to ensure that the environment is safe to enter. Rushing onto a scene that is dangerous can result in you being injured and preventing you from calling for help or from being able to help the intended victim. It is therefore important to remember these three basic CPR steps after you have assessed the scene for safety.

  1. CALL – call out to person to see if they are responsive. If the person is not responsive, is not breathing or appears to have trouble breathing CALL 911 immediately and then return to the victim.  The dispatcher answering your call will generally stay on the line with you and also be able to talk you through the proper CPR steps while you wait for the emergency response team.

  2. PUMP – If the victim has not started breathing on his/her own, you can begin chest compressions. In order for them to be effective you must push down on the center of the chest about 2 inches and repeat this 30 times. It is important to push hard and fast as you will want to stay at a rate of at least 100/minute. This will require pushing down more than once per second.

  3. BLOW – You will then need to blow 2 consecutive breaths of about 1 second for each breath into the victim’s mouth. In order to do this you will need to tilt the head back, keeping it as straight as possible and lift the chin. Pinch the nose and cover their mouth with yours and watch to see the chest rise.

If the victim is still not breathing continue with the process delivering 30 PUMPS and 2 BREATHS until help arrives. The same method is used in both one-person and two-person CPR. When performing two-person CPR the person who is pumping will stop while the second delivers the two mouth to mouth breaths. The most common complication that arises when administering CPR is that the victim may start to vomit. If this happens you must turn their heat to the side and sweep out any vomit that may be in the mouth and then continue administering CPR.

CPR Training

CPR training gives people the skills they need to administer a life saving procedure to someone whose heart has stopped, while waiting for medical help to arrive. In almost all cases when you are the only one present on the scene you need to first check the victim for responsiveness then call 911 prior to beginning chest compressions. Continue Reading...

Online CPR Certification

For anyone who wants to learn the basics of life saving procedures but may not be able to attend regular first aid classes, online CPR certification courses are an ideal way to learn the steps involved in providing CPR to someone whose heart has stopped beating. Continue Reading...

First Aid Certification

Would you know what to do if you suddenly found your spouse or child unconscious in the backyard? Certainly, you would want to call your local emergency response team but what if there was something you could do to help save that precious life while waiting for help to arrive. Continue Reading...