Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, can be an invaluable life-saving technique. It clears the airway and forces your heart to pump blood through the body until a rescue team can arrive to take over. You can learn CPR techniques from your local Red Cross or at a swimming pool, because lifeguards perform these techniques to save people from drowning. Learning perform CPR may enable you to save a life.
Open the Airway
According to the ACEP (American College of Emergency Physicians) Foundation, CPR consists of three main steps: opening the airway, using rescue breathing and performing chest compressions and rescue breathing. The airway has to be open for rescue breathing or chest compressions to have positive effect. To clear the airway, roll the person onto his back, tilt his chin and press down on the forehead. Now you can perform rescue breathing to provide oxygen to the lungs. Don't tilt his head if a neck or back injury has occurred, because you could risk killing him. The chin lift may still be performed. If the airway still fails to open, try tilting the head in a slow and gentle manner until the airway no longer is blocked.
Rescue Breathing
Listen and watch for signs of breath. Listen for normal breathing in a healthy adult by placing one ear to her mouth and nose and watching her chest for rising and falling motions. If you have to perform CPR on a child or infant, listen for any breathing. If you don't notice any breathing, put the heel of your hand on her chin to keep the airway open. Pinch her nose shut and breathe twice into her mouth. Pause between breaths to see if she responds to aid. If you perform rescue breathing correctly, her chest should rise and fall.
Chest Compression
Rescue breathing gets oxygen into the lungs. Chest compressions force the heart to circulate that oxygen through the body. Immediately after doing rescue breathing, place the heel of your hand on his sternum and reinforce it with your other hand. Press directly downward on the sternum 30 times, then give two more breaths and repeat chest compressions. Do this quickly enough to give 100 compressions in one minute to simulate heart rate. Continue until help arrives, until your CPR takes effect or until you've exhausted yourself. Do not stop under any circumstances unless you are unable to continue.
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