1, 2, 3 Clear

Few people think about being in an emergency situation and needing to save a life. Most people imagine that emergency situations happen only in hospitals or in dangerous places. But in reality, everyone needs to consider what to do during an emergency, because eighty-eight percent of cardiac arrests will take place in a home. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is a vital skill that can rescue people who are not conscious or not breathing due to cardiac arrest or other injury. Anyone can learn how to perform CPR by learning its basic six stages along with the several steps in each stage.

The first stage begins the moment you notice a person who may need CPR. Immediately, you must assess the situation around the potentially injured or ill person. Check to see if the scene is safe from potential dangers such as car traffic, fire, or water. If possible, your first priority is to remove both the person and yourself from danger. Then, check to see if the person is responsive. Test this by patting them on the shoulders and loudly asking, “Are you okay?” If the person does not respond, the person may need CPR.

The second stage involves calling 911, or another available emergency number, as soon as possible. Then try to acquire an AED and a first aid kit. If there one or more people nearby, delegate these tasks to them so that you can focus on performing CPR. If there is no one available to delegate these tasks to, you must do them yourself before you start CPR. Unless you call 911 and get an AED, it is unlikely that the person will live using CPR alone. CPR is meant to maintain a person’s blood and oxygen flow while waiting for trained personnel to arrive.

The third stage requires you to prepare for admin...

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...process starting with thirty chest compressions.

Stage six is simply continuing CPR and or AED use until success or until failure. If a medical professional arrives, hand over the situation to them. If the medical professional has not yet arrived, continue CPR and or AED use until arrival or until you are too exhausted to continue. If another certified CRP person is available, switch off with that person.

One of the most common mistakes a person makes in CPR is giving priority to mouth to mouth breaths rather than to chest compressions. It has been proven that chest compressions can sustain a person without breathing. The breaths can wait. Even if you do not want to give mouth to mouth breaths during CPR, it is better to give chest compressions than to do nothing at all. Hopefully, this simple 1, 2, 3 process has made CPR and AED use very clear to you.