CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, can help someone survive cardiac arrest. Even if you don’t know CPR, you can help someone by using “hands-only” CPR. To give the person the best odds of survival, you need to take immediate action. Start CPR while someone else calls 911 and looks for an AED (automated external defibrillator).
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a way to save the life of someone who’s in cardiac arrest (when someone’s heart is no longer able to pump blood) by attempting to restart their heart. It’s a fairly simple 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. Breaths of oxygen bring more oxygen into the person with cardiac arrest.
A person of any age needs CPR if they:
More than half of all people who have cardiac arrest outside of a hospital don’t get help right away. If you receive CPR right after you go into cardiac arrest, your chance of survival can double or even triple.
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
Before starting CPR, follow these steps:
Perform the rescue breath as follows:
While you’re doing CPR, someone should be bringing an AED to use for help with resuscitating the person.
You can do CPR even if you don’t have training in how to perform CPR. If a teen or adult is in cardiac arrest, call 911 and do chest compressions until emergency help arrives. This is called “hands-only CPR.” By distributing oxygen currently in the person’s body, it can help someone in cardiac arrest until someone with CPR training arrives.
It can be easier to remember the CPR compression rate if you follow the beat of these songs:
If you’re doing CPR on an infant as a single rescuer, put one hand on their forehead to keep their head slightly back to provide proper rescue breaths. Use two fingers of your other hand to do compressions that go a third or half the depth of their chest. The number of compressions and breaths is the same as for adults.
If you’re a two-person rescue team, while one person provides rescue breaths, the other person should use a two-hand method. Place both thumbs in the center of the chest (below the nipple) with the remaining fingers wrapped around the sides of the infant. Deliver compressions with the two thumbs. Use the same number of compressions and breaths as for adults.
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 look to see if there’s any organ damage from a lack of oxygen. They’ll also determine the cause of cardiac arrest and provide whatever treatment the person needs. Many people who survive cardiac arrest stay in a coma, but about half wake up.
By keeping blood moving through a person’s body, CPR prevents organ damage in someone who’s in cardiac arrest.
CPR comes with risks because of how hard chest compressions have to be to keep blood circulating. It’s possible to break ribs and injure organs within the chest during CPR.
It can take several months for mild issues with memory, learning and concentration to get better in people who survive cardiac arrest and awaken from a comatose state.
If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, call 911 immediately.
After surviving cardiac arrest, you’ll need follow-up appointments with your healthcare provider. The timing of the appointments will vary depending on your condition. Be sure to contact your provider if you aren’t getting better or if you have new symptoms during your recovery.
Yes, it’s possible that CPR can break a person’s rib. This is possible because you have to push down hard in order to pump blood from the heart throughout a person’s body.
“Hands-only” CPR, described above, doesn’t involve mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It’s still a valuable form of CPR that can help a person’s blood flow until professional emergency help arrives.
Many public places have an automated external defibrillator (AED) that people can use in emergency situations. Anyone can use an AED, which delivers a life-saving shock to a person in cardiac arrest. When you use it in the right way, the shock restores a normal heart rhythm. Most AEDs have easy-to-use instructions on them, but a 911 dispatcher can also help you use the AED. You should use AEDs alongside CPR, not instead of CPR.
You should start CPR and ask someone to call 911 and look for an AED.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Most cardiac arrests that happen outside a hospital happen at home, so you could be helping a relative or friend if you know CPR. Even “hands-only” CPR can help a person stay alive until first responders arrive. CPR increases a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest, but it’s important to act quickly.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 09/13/2022.
Learn more about our editorial process.
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy