Everyone should have a basic understanding of CPR since it might enable you to save someone’s life. CPR is required in medical emergencies that arise at any time or location. In the UK, more than 30000 cardiac attacks occur outside of hospitals each year, according to the British Heart Foundation.
This article defines CPR, discusses its applications, and identifies qualified personnel. You will discover the procedures to follow based on whether you perform CPR on a newborn, child, or adult.
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR, is a life-saving emergency technique that combines chest compressions with artificial ventilation (breathing) when a person’s heart stops beating or breathing stops. CPR can improve a person’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest when administered quickly.
A person having a cardiac arrest may display the following signs and symptoms:
CPR must be performed on a casualty as soon as possible if they are unconscious and not breathing properly or at all.
CPR is the practice of manually administering chest compressions and ventilations to a victim who is in need of oxygen. When a person’s heart and lungs are unable to pump blood and oxygen throughout their body, CPR can help. When performing CPR, you are essentially acting in the victim’s place as their heart and lungs. Doing this can stop their life-threatening condition from worsening before emergency medical care can take over.
A medical emergency requiring immediate attention is cardiac arrest. This indicates that if the problem isn’t treated right now, it could worsen quickly. This means that for cardiac arrests outside of hospitals, workplace first responders, bystanders, family members, and friends may be present and must begin CPR. In fact, according to data from the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, almost 70% of cardiac arrests occur at home.
While waiting for emergency medical aid, a casualty’s health might significantly worsen if CPR is not administered. Rapid action could make the difference between life and death for many people.
You must be sure of your knowledge and be able to tell when a casualty needs CPR before you try to perform CPR. Depending on the casualty’s age and the type of practical first aid training, you must take the appropriate course of action.
It’s vital to remember that you shouldn’t do CPR on adults using rescue breaths if you haven’t received the practical training necessary to be certified as a first aider. This indicates that you should perform chest compressions-only CPR in its place.
However, it’s more likely that a respiratory failure caused a child or infant’s cardiac arrest than anything else. Therefore, you must administer rescue breaths on kids and babies if you’ve got practice and are comfortable doing it. You must seek guidance from the emergency services on the appropriate course of action to follow for the individual circumstances if you haven’t had practical first aid training or are unsure.
Anytime you are unsure about performing CPR on a victim, contact 999 or 112. The call handler is best to advise you on what to do in various circumstances. The emergency call handler will be happy to answer your questions.
Anyone under the age of one year is considered to be an infant. It is most likely that a respiratory failure caused an infant’s cardiac arrest. Perform rescue breaths only if you have received Paediatric First Aid training in practice and are comfortable doing so. You must seek guidance from the emergency services on the appropriate course of action to follow for the individual circumstances if you haven’t had practical first aid training or are unsure.
When performing CPR on newborns, you should:
Put the baby in recovery if they start breathing regularly or making any noise. You should keep an eye on their status because you could need to perform CPR once again.
It’s vital to remember that infants younger than one-year-old shouldn’t be treated with defibrillators (AEDs).
Make sure the emergency services have been contacted as soon as possible. Before phoning the emergency services on a speaker phone, you must do one minute of CPR if you’re alone. If feasible, have a friend or family member dial 999 or 112.
You must place the infant in the recovery posture if they start to speak. While waiting for emergency help, keep an eye on their status because you could need to perform CPR again.
A person is considered an adult in first aid if they have reached puberty, typically 12 years old or older. Give the adult casualty rescue breaths while applying chest compressions if you are a certified first aider, which means you have already completed a hands-on training course and feel comfortable using your skills.
When performing CPR on an adult, you should:
Put the victim in recovery as soon as their breathing returns to normal. While you wait for the emergency services to arrive, keep an eye on their status because you could need to perform CPR once again.
You shouldn’t do CPR on adults if you aren’t a certified first aider and haven’t received hands-on training. The NHS recommends that you only try chest compressions instead.
Resuscitation Council UK has provided advice on performing CPR in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. To guarantee that it is carried out securely and the risk of spreading the virus between oneself and the casualty is minimised, they urge that first aid, including CPR, be delivered differently. When giving CPR, it’s recommended to carefully cover the victim’s mouth and nose with a towel or piece of clothing while taking care not to block their mouth. Importantly, during this period, you should only perform hands-only CPR on adults. This indicates that you should only do chest compressions on adult casualties instead of performing rescue breaths.
However, if you have received the requisite hands-on training and feel comfortable, you should continue to give rescue breaths to infants and toddlers while performing CPR.
When performing hands-only CPR on an adult, you should:
Put the victim in recovery as soon as their breathing returns to normal. While you wait for the emergency services to arrive, keep an eye on their status because you could need to perform CPR once again.