ADULT CPR
Again, this page is not meant to teach
you CPR.
It is meant to provide a resource for
studying and reviewing only.
- Establish unresponsiveness. This means to shake and shout
at the victim to try to rouse him/her.
- Call for help. If someone else is around, have them do it
AND tell them to come back. This way you can be certain that help
is on the way.
- Open the airway using the head-tilt/chin-lift method. This
means use one hand on the forehead gently pushing backwards, and
the other hand on the bony part of the jaw pulling upward.
- Check for breathing by placing your ear next to the victim's
mouth. In this position you can listen for breathing, feel the
air on your cheek, and look at the chest rising and falling. Do
this for three to five seconds.
- Give two slow breaths and watch for the chest to rise. Allow
the victim to exhale through normal relaxation before giving the
next breath.
- Check for a carotid pulse (in the neck) for five to ten seconds.
If the victim is not breathing but has a pulse, perform rescue
breathing by giving one breath every five seconds. (Remember,
every time you breath, the victim needs to breath.) If no pulse,
expose the chest and find the proper hand placement. To do this,
move your fingers up the rib cage until they come together. Place
two fingers at this junction (which is directly over the xyphoid
process, a sharp protrusion that you want to be sure not to press
on). Then place the heel of your other hand directly above these
two fingers, and place the other hand on top of it (inter-linking
fingers if you choose).
- Compress the chest 1 ½ inches to 2 inches and release.
Repeat 15 times. Keep your arms straight and pivot at the hips,
using your body weight to compress the chest, not your arm strength.
Be sure to keep your hands on the victim's chest, so you don't
bounce off of the correct position. Also, be sure to compress
straight down, not at an angle.
- Compress the chest at a rate of 80-100 per minute.
- After you have given fifteen chest compressions, give two
breaths. Continue this procedure for four cycles. After this,
stop and reassess breathing and heart beat. If no pulse, continue
the process of 15 compressions to 2 breaths, stopping every few
minutes to reassess.
- CPR should not be stopped for more than 30 seconds, unless
one of the conditions for stopping is met.
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