Adult CPR

Precautions

Make sure the scene is safe, and that you have the proper equipment (your gloves and one-way valve rescue mask).

Steps

  1. Check for responsiveness

   

  1. Does the patient respond to you calling them? Do they respond to your taps to the shoulder?
    1. Call emergency services/code

   

  1. Send a bystander to get an AED or call 911 if available
  2. Call 911 yourself if you have a phone
    1. Assess the patient

   

  1. Check for a carotid pulse between the trachea and the sternocleidomastoid, for no more than 10 seconds

       1. Do you feel a pulse? Proceed to rescue breathing. 2. Do they not have a pulse? Begin CPR.

  1. Is the patient breathing normally?

       1. Don’t be fooled by agonal breathing!

  1. Perform CPR

   

  1. Aim for the lower third of the sternum, between the breasts
  2. 2-2.4 inch deep, at a rate of 100-120 bpm
  3. Two per second

       1. Some songs that can help: Staying Alive, Another One Bites the Dust, All Star, Hips Don’t Lie

  1. Allow for full recoil--allow the chest to bounce back to its neutral position before starting the next compression
  2. Lock your elbows, stand, and use your body weight to compress--don’t use brute strength alone!
    1. After 30 compressions, give two rescue breaths

   

  1. Watch for chest movements.
    1. Continue compressions. Repeat this process, until:

   

  1. The patient begins to breathe normally
  2. The AED arrives
  3. Emergency services arrive