Online CPR Certification Blog

When an adult has stopped breathing or their heart has stopped, the emergency procedure performed to resuscitate their breathing and heart beat is known as CPR. While this procedure is best performed by health workers, there are times when one suffers a cardiac arrest in places outside hospitals and other healthcare institutions where specialized help is available. In such a case, a lay person can perform the CPR until professional help arrives or the person responds accordingly and can now seek better health care at the hospital. When performing lay person CPR on an adult person, it is essential that you follow the general guidelines in order to get the job done well and enhance the chances of the patient surviving the cardiac arrest.

How to give adult CPR

While giving adult CPR isn’t a hard procedure to do as a layperson, it is always advisable that you know how to do it well to ensure that the person has a better chance of living. But even before you start the procedure, medical experts always insist on the importance of calling 911 first just to be sure that help is on the way. Generally speaking, CPR is given through two main methods and it is essential that everyone is well acquainted with how to perform them. Here is a general look at them:

C-A-B CPR Method

With this method, the lay person is required to follow the steps as with the initials which start with chest compressions followed by airway opening and finally, rescue breathing. This should be done in that order without being interchanged. To start with, experts advise one to start off the procedure by doing 30 chest compressions first after which they should proceed to opening the person’s airway. With the airway wide open, give the person 2 breaths through their mouth and this is what is referred to as rescue breaths. The person needs to be repeated and done in that order until help is available, or the person responds or there is an AED to use.

The compression-only CPR procedure

The next method of giving adult CPR is known as compression only and in fact, this is the most recommended method that a lay person should follow. With the compressions only, you won’t be doing the breath rescue which is a great relief to many especially those who are not ready to let their mouth get into physical contact with that of the patient. In fact, doctors even recommend the compression only method as studies have shown that it is a much successful alternative to the chest compression and breathe rescue combination which usually has low chances of success.

With chest compressions, you should continue doing them until the patient responds, AED becomes available or caregivers arrive who should then take over the emergency rescue. It is essential that you have some general knowledge of how to use an AED in emergency cardiac arrest.