CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is an important first aid technique that is performed to people whose heartbeat has suddenly stopped or is not breathing properly or at all. The objective of performing CPR is to delay tissue death by keeping the blood and oxygen circulating in the body. This is done when medical response is yet to come.
While there are two forms of CPR, chest compression (also known as hands-only CPR) and rescue breaths (artificial respiration), we are going to focus more on the hands-only CPR as it is the one recommended if the rescuer is untrained or is worried about giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a stranger. CPR through rescue breaths should only be conducted by people who are confident with their CPR skills.
To carry out the chest compression CPR, these are the following procedures:
- Put your hands together in the way that one of your palms is over the back of your other hand. Interlock your fingers together and put them over the breastbone at the center of the chest of the person you are to conduct CPR to.
- With your shoulders above your hands and using your body’s weight, press straight down on the person’s chest to 2 inches or 5-6 cm.
- Perform 100-120 chest compressions per minute on the person.
- Keep pumping on his chest until an ambulance or medical help has arrived.
Aside from these steps, a person who is left alone with an unresponsive victim who needs CPR and has no further knowledge about proper CPR can seek help from telephone systems. When you call for an ambulance, and while waiting for it to arrive, telephone systems also give basic CPR instructions that you can do to the victim including CPR and other life-saving techniques. The use of an AED can also prove to be helpful in situations like these.
This *case happened to 11-year old Kendall Stilwell in California. When she noticed that her grandmother Rita Lovato was unconscious and not breathing. Scared and not knowing what to do, she immediately called 911. Lovato had a cardiac arrest and no adult was around to perform CPR on her except the 11-year old girl. When Stilwell called for help, the 911 dispatcher on the other line helped calm the little girl down and gave her instructions to help resuscitate her grandmother and assured her that help is on the way. The dispatcher instructed her on how to perform hands-only CPR since she is untrained in CPR, and even helped her in counting the beats for her at the right tempo.
With the help of Stilwell’s composure and the detailed instructions given by the 911 dispatcher, Lovato was able to survive the cardiac arrest. This story proves that knowledge and skills in CPR can go a long way in saving a life. Whether you are medical professional or not, knowing how to conduct CPR is highly indispensable in cases of emergencies. If you are interested in knowing how to conduct CPR properly, you can always enroll yourself in any of the CPR training programs being offered by a number of institutions such as Citywide CPR.
