Online CPR Certification Blog

CPR can be used to save lives in situations such as near drowning, heart attacks or difficulty in breathing. The American Hearts Association (AHA) recommends the following

Hands only compression should be attempted by people who are untrained. Trained and experienced people should immediately perform chest compression while waiting for paramedics to arrive. The trained but rusty people should simply perform chest compression. It should be noted that this applies only to adults and children over one year. Infants are excluded since their procedure if far much different.

The main function of CPR is to maintain the oxygen level in the blood stream. This will oxygenate blood flowing to vital organs such as the brain which need constant supply of oxygen in order to function normally. Lack of oxygen in the brain can result in some of the cells getting damaged and one can die in less than 8 minutes if nothing is done.

You can learn CPR by through undergoing a first aid course which should be inclusive of the use of AED (automatic external defibrillator)

The process of administering CPR

Check if the person is unconscious or unconscious. Start CPR if and only if the person doesn’t respond to your call. Always send one person to call the paramedics if there are two of you at the scene. You should try to administer CPR and call 911 if you are alone. If available, deliver one shock of AED prior to administering CPR.

AHA encourages people to utilize the acronyms CAB which stands for circulation, airway, and breathing.

Circulation

The main objective of this process is to use chest compression to restore the circulation of blood within the victim’s body. This can be done by

Placing the person on their back on a solid and firm surface

Knelling next to their shoulders and neck and placing their heel over the center of the victim’s chest. This should be between the nipples.

Compress the victim’s chest using the weight of your body making sure that your elbows are straight. Do 100 compressions per minute. Continue doing this until there is a response or until the paramedics arrive

Airway

You can open the victim’s airway by using the head tilt. Gently tilt the head backwards and lift their chin.

Look for chest motion and try listening for normal breathing every 10 seconds. You should note that gasping isn’t normal breathing. Continue compressing the chest if you are untrained and believe the person is suffering from a heart attack.

Breathing

You can breathe into the person mouths when their head is tilted. There should be two rescue breathes administered. Always resume chest compression after breathing into the victim’s mouth twice.

• The method used with children aged between 1 – 8 years is basically the same except for a few minor details such as
• There should be five cycle of compression
• Utilize one hand instead of two and breathe more gently into the child’s mouth

For infants the procedure is quite different and entails

• Gently stroking the baby to see if they respond. Always avoid shaking the bay as it can make matters worse
• Do CPR for two minutes and call 911.