CPR

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It’s a way to save the life of someone who’s in cardiac arrest (when their heart can’t pump blood). It’s an attempt to restart their heart and/or keep their blood circulating.

CPR is a technique that anyone can learn. The key part of CPR is chest compressions, which keep blood flowing to vital organs until a regular heartbeat returns. Giving rescue breaths brings more oxygen into the person with cardiac arrest.

A person of any age needs CPR if ALL of the following happens:

• They collapse
• They don’t respond
• They aren’t breathing
• They don’t have a pulse

If you receive CPR immediately after you go into cardiac arrest, along with other timely emergency care, your chance of survival can double or even triple.

Types of CPR

There are two main types of CPR:

• Hands-only CPR. You push hard and fast in the center of the person’s chest 100 to 120 times per minute. You can do it to the beat of a song like “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.
• CPR with breaths. You give chest compressions and pause to give the person two mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths. You give the breaths every 30 compressions (about 20 seconds or so).

Studies show that hands-only CPR can be as effective as CPR with breaths in the first few minutes during a cardiac arrest event for an adult. This is for scenarios outside of a hospital.

What do I do before starting CPR?

Before starting CPR, try to get medical help. Call 911 or your local emergency service number. The dispatcher can guide you through the CPR steps until paramedics arrive. Ask someone nearby to get an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Next, think of ABC to see if the person needs CPR:

• A is for AIRWAY. Tilt the person’s head back while they’re lying on their back. Look in their mouth and throat to see if there’s anything in it (if so, they could be choking).
• B is for BREATHING. Lean in close to their face and listen for 10 seconds to see if you hear them breathing. Look to see if their chest is going up and down.
• C is for CIRCULATION. Check for a pulse. Feel the side of their neck just below their jawline for a few seconds.

Perform CPR if there’s no breathing and no pulse.

How to do CPR

CPR consists of chest compressions and rescue breaths. You can only do chest compressions if that’s what you’re most comfortable with.

Chest compressions (hands-only CPR)

CPR starts with chest compressions:

1. Put one of your hands over the other and place them in the middle of the person’s chest (slightly under their nipples). If you’re helping a child up to age 8, use one hand and place it right above the bottom of their breastbone.
2. With the force of your body weight behind it, push your hands down hard in the middle of their chest for a second. Use the heel of your hand or the part just before your wrist. Keep your elbows straight.
3. Repeatedly push on the person’s chest (chest compressions) 100 to 120 times per minute.

While giving compressions:

• Push down 2 inches each time (about the height or short side of a credit card).
• Make sure you allow their chest to come all the way back up between compressions.
• It can be easier to remember the compression rate if you follow the beat of songs like “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees or “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Giving chest compressions can get very tiring very quickly. If other people are around, have them switch places with you to continue the compressions when you run out of energy.

It’s OK to only do chest compressions (hands-only CPR).

Giving rescue breaths

If you have CPR training, you can pause compressions to give the person two mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths. Give two breaths for every 30 compressions (about 20 seconds or so).

1. Pinch their nose closed while tilting their head back a little and their chin up.
2. Close your mouth over theirs and blow a normal-sized breath into it. Their chest should go up. If the person’s chest doesn’t come up, check to see if there’s something in their mouth. Give a total of two breaths and go back to doing compressions.

Keep doing chest compressions and giving rescue breaths in a cycle until the person revives or more help arrives.

While you’re doing CPR, someone should be bringing an AED to use to help with resuscitating the person.

Do you continue CPR during breaths?

During rescue breaths, you pause chest compressions for a few seconds. After two rescue breaths, you resume the chest compressions.

How long should I do CPR?

You should keep doing CPR until the person starts breathing or a paramedic arrives. If you get tired, another person can switch places with you.

How can CPR save a life?

CPR can save a person’s life if they receive it right after going into cardiac arrest. CPR can keep blood moving through a person’s body. This may prevent organ damage, like cerebral hypoxia.

About 1 in 4 people who get prompt CPR in a hospital survive and go home after a hospital stay. About 1 in 10 people who get CPR after a cardiac arrest in a non-hospital setting survive. Still, it’s worth attempting CPR when someone’s in cardiac arrest. The best odds happen with consistent CPR for as long as it takes.

What are the risks of CPR?

CPR comes with risks because of how hard the chest compressions have to be to keep blood circulating. It’s possible to break ribs and injure organs within the chest during CPR. But this risk is worth it to try to save a person’s life.

Some people with certain preexisting health conditions might not experience the same benefits from CPR, depending on how sick they are before they go into cardiac arrest. If you have a significant or severe medical condition, consider speaking with a healthcare provider you trust about what your recovery or outlook might look like if you needed CPR.

What happens immediately after CPR?

After first responders take over caring for the person receiving CPR, they’ll get them to a hospital as soon as possible.

If the person survives, healthcare providers will check for any organ damage from a lack of oxygen. They’ll also determine the cause of cardiac arrest and provide whatever treatment the person needs. Having a cardiac arrest is a very significant event. The specific reason for it strongly influences the outcome of recovery.