"How To Do CPR" by Hannah C

 
In any state of emergency, knowing what to do and what you actually can do is essential to have everyone that is involved have the highest chances of survival. CPR is the right action to take when someone is unconscious, not responding or breathing, and with little or no heartbeat. CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and it can help start up the heart again by manually pumping their body’s blood from the heart and giving lifesaving oxygen by blowing air directly into the lungs of the person in need. There are specific steps in order to do CPR properly and following them accordingly can be the difference between life and death. Anything can happen in an emergency and being properly prepared and aware to handle any situation is essential. 

Obviously, reading this how to once or twice won’t make you a qualified professional, or make you get certified in CPR.  Professionals trained in CPR go through hours of in class learning and hands on training before they can even touch a person in real immediate danger. Data has shown that doing CPR without proper training has a higher risk of injury to the individual than not performing CPR until medical professionals arrive. Without knowing exactly what you are doing, you risk breaking the individual’s ribs, cause them to vomit, induce additional brain damage, and lodge forgin objects within the person’s body. This is also not a certified training course in any way, so pulling this up instead of dialing 911 is not recommended. This guide should be used as a foot in the door to understanding the steps of CPR and will hopefully inspire many to obtain their certification which can save the life of a stranger or even someone you hold dear. 

There are three types of CPR, the CPR intended for adults, children, and infants. This guide will just be going over the CPR for adults because it is the simplest and most likely to be used. 

STEP 1: Immediately after noticing a person unconscious on the ground, first ensure your safety, then tap and shout to try to wake them up. Immediately shout for help to dial 911. Look for any normal or not normal breathing, including gasping. Check their carotid pulse on the neck which is the most convenient. If they continue to not respond or you notice their heart is not pumping, lay them down on a dry, flat, firm surface, call for 911 again and immediately begin high-quality CPR. If the individual is breathing fine with a pulse, monitor them till emergency responders arrive. If they have no normal breathing, but have a pulse, provide rescue breathing, one breath every 5 - 6 seconds and check pulse every two minutes. If you do not definitely feel a pulse within 10 seconds, begin CPR. 

STEP 2: Once 911 has been called, EMS (Emergency Medical Service) has been activated. If there are other people around, call for help, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), and emergency medical equipment. With or without help, start chest compressions. 

STEP 3: Carefully remove the clothing that is covering the victim's chest to allow you to locate the correct hand placement for compressions and allow placement of the AED pads. Position
one heel of your hand on the center of the victim's chest, on the lower half of the breast bone, while placing the heel of your other hand on the top of your first hand. Straighten your arms and hover directly over the individual, with your shoulders over your hands. Always remember the ratio of 30 compressions to 2 breaths. Once you begin compressions, compress with a rate of 100 to 120/min and press down 2 inches deep. Giving consistent compressions are very important, because each time you stop chest compressions the blood flow to the heart and brain decreases and it takes several compressions before the blood flow returns to normal. If an AED arrives before the round of compressions is done, finish all 30 then follow the directions that the AED says out loud as explained in step 5.

STEP 4: When a person is lying down, their airway is naturally obstructed slightly by the tongue, so in order for breaths to be effective, the victim’s airway must be opened. The head tilt-chin lift method is exactly what the name implies. Push down the individual’s forehead down lightly with your palm to tilt their head back, then use your other hand to lift their jaw and chin forward from right under the chin. Another method is the jaw-thrust maneuver, which is used when the head tilt-chin lift method doesn’t work or a spinal injury is suspected.  Place one hand on each side of the victim's head, then place your fingers under the sides of their chin and lift with both hands, moving the jaw forward. Finally, opening their lips with your thumbs. Their airway is now opened and you can begin administering 2 breaths. Each breath should last over 1 second and should be enough to make the victim’s chest rise.

STEP 5: When the AED arrives during any point of the procedure, it is essential to hook it up to the victim immediately. Before doing anything with the machine, turn it on and wait for the instructions to speak out loud. The instructions will tell you to attach the AED to the victims bare chest accordingly. Then, connect the cables that are connected to the pads to the AED machine. Clear the victim, allow the AED to analyze their heat beat and wait for it to instruct you what to do next. If the AED advises you to give the individual a shock, do not touch the victim and administer the shock. Immediately after it is administered resume chest compressions. If it tells you no shock need, continue doing CPR, starting with compressions again. Every five cycles of CPR, it will analyze the victim again, repeating the same steps. 

STEP 6: Continue compressions and manual ventilation until medical professionals arrive or the person begins to move again. Another person can take over CPR every 5 cycles or more frequently if the rescuer becomes fatigued. 

Following each step carefully will lead to saving a person’s life and can be gratifying to the rescuer to know they did something to help a person in a desperate situation. Getting your own certification to do CPR is absolutely worth the effort and time. Hopefully this inspires you to be interested in taking a class for yourself. 

Source: American Heart Association, Basic Life Support Provider Manual

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This part is not meant to be in the blog, but I am aware of how much this passage is highlighted as not my work, but I assure you I attempted to tweak as much of the diction as I could without changing the accuracy of the directions.