How to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

• April 20, 2024

CPR is an acronym that means Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is a method that is practiced universally as part of an emergency procedure. The goal of CPR is the introduction of oxygen into the bloodstream through artificial respiration. This artificial respiration is, along with the pumping helps for oxygen to travel throughout the body.

The lack of oxygen in the brain can lead to brain damage, and cause the death of a person in a matter of minutes. That is why it is important to reactivate the pumping of the blood in the heart to make sure that all the vital functions of the body continue forward.

When to perform CPR

Realizing when to perform CPR is as important as knowing how to carry it out. This could mean the difference between life and death, so you have to think quickly.

Important components of CPR

There are three main components to performing a successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is dubbed as ABC, since it literally means airway, breathing and chest compression.

Using the acronym in this way can remind you of the three stages of CPR to relive a person in emergency situations. It will serve as a guide when reviewing the patient's vital signs to determine if they need CPR or some other means of reliving the conscience (if the victim is unconscious).

The respiratory tract

To perform CPR, you must always start by opening the person's airway. These are the steps to do it correctly:

• Lay the person on his back.
• To open the airway, gently lift the chin. Support the chin with one hand, tilt the head back with the other hand. Anyway, do not do a push maneuver to open the person's airway as it can cause injuries.
• For victims with neck or spinal injuries, use only the chin technique to avoid tipping, pushing the forehead down.
• Once the airways have been opened, watch for signs of breathing for at least 10 seconds. This should be enough time to assess normal breathing.
• If there are still no signs of breathing, you can proceed to the next phase of CPR:

Breathing

Also known as emergency breathing, this stage is crucial in the recovery of breathing patterns in an individual who has lost consciousness and breathing. Follow these simple steps:

• Close the person's nose with the thumb and forefinger while maintaining the inclination of the head. Make sure that your other hand is supporting the chin that keeps you tilted.
• Before performing emergency breathing to the victim, inhale deeply.
• Keep a tight seal between your mouth and the victim's mouth after giving two full breaths, it should take about a second and allow the victim's chest to start rising.
• If you notice that the victim's thorax does not rise when the breath is released into the mouth, readjust the tilt of the chin and repeat the procedure again.

Compression in the chest

Once you have given two full breaths in the victim, you can perform compression on the chest. This is what you should do:

• Position yourself on the victim's side, preferably near the chest area.
• Use the middle and index fingers to locate the edges of the rib cage. Then, place your hand in the middle of the chest, right between the nipples. On top of all that keep your other hand in position.
• With your arms straight, press down on the area where your hands are placed. Push with enough force to reach about two-thirds of the depth of the entire chest.
• In the midst of compression, allow relaxation in such a way that the chest returns to its natural position.
• An ideal proportion of chest compression would be 30 pumping in the chest for every two full breaths. You can do this for about five minutes or until the vital signs resume.

Video Medicine: How To Do CPR - Animated Video (April 2024).