What is basic CPR?
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a rescue procedure that is performed when we find a victim in cardiorespiratory arrest.
Annually, more than 6 million people suffer sudden cardiac arrest without warning. Studies show that victims who have CPR before receiving medical help not only have a better chance of survival but also have a better recovery.
Not all the population is aware of the importance of knowing how to act in these situations, for this reason it is essential to provide this type of training, so that those who are suffering cardiac arrest can be attended to as soon as possible.
It should be noted that on many occasions it may be necessary to have taken a first aid course for depending on which maneuvers, but knowing the basic CPR techniques will be useful for everyone since , a cardiorespiratory arrest happens at the most unexpected moment and everyone can be a victim.
These instructions are NOT a substitute for first aid training , but if done well, they can make the difference between life and death of a person.
CPR consists of two moments:
- Mouth or mouth breathing, which provides oxygen to the victim.
- Chest compressions, which maintain blood circulation.
Time works against the moment a victim enters cardiorespiratory arrest. In just 4 minutes that the brain does not receive the corresponding oxygen, the damage can be permanent.
How to do basic CPR?
Know how to recognize a cardiorespiratory arrest
When a person falls to the ground and does not respond, does not breathe or does not have a pulse, we must initiate a series of steps to verify if the victim is in cardiorespiratory arrest.
Check awareness
If the victim is conscious we will leave it in the position in which we have found it and we will call 112. We will wait for the emergency services to arrive and we will continually revalue it.
In the case that he does not respond , we will place the victim lying on his back to the ground and we will open the airway using the forehead-chin maneuver to verify that he does not have anything that does not allow him to breathe.
Check breathing
We will look for chest movements, we will listen for noise when breathing or if we feel the breath with the cheek or hand. If he breathes normally , we will continue to assess the victim promptly until the emergency services arrive.
In in case he is not breathing , we will call the emergency services and indicate clearly where we are and that we are with a victim of a possible cardiorespiratory arrest.
Initiate chest compressions
It is essential that blood continues to flow through the organs and we will achieve this through chest compressions.
We have to kneel next to the victim to be able to have more ease when performing the maneuvers. Then, in order to be able to perform basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation , we will place the heel of one of our hands in the center of the victim’s chest. Next, the heel of the other hand should be placed on the first and we will interlace the fingers. Finally, with a rhythm of 100 to 120 compressions per minute, we will press the victim’s chest continuously.
If you have a lack of CPR , you should continue CPR until you notice signs of movement or until emergency medical personnel take over.
If, on the other hand, you are trained in CPR, open the airways and provide rescue breathing.
Rescue insufflations
After 30 compressions we will perform 2 rescue breaths. We have to see how the chest is inflated to assess that we are doing it correctly.
We go back to compressions
We will perform 30 more compressions and do 2 rescue breaths again until the victim is breathing normally or emergency services arrive.
From Neosalus we want to offer you the best caridoprotection for you and yours. Being able to surround your workspace or places with a large volume of people with defibrillators allows you to offer quick attention to these types of problems. Offering cardioprotected spaces helps save lives.