Chest compression and mouth to mouth breathing is something that everyone is familiar with. Though, this has been portrayed in a plenty of movies yet it is not as simple as it looks. Be it the Jurassic Park where Dr. Grant delivers chest compression and rescue breathing to the unconscious kid, Tim or the climax scene of The Avengers that shows the revival of Iron Man just by a roar of the Hulk, movies have never failed to render practicality with added speculation. Learn the actual process and then decide how far from reality are these movies.
What is CPR?
You might have already heard of this but in case you haven't, CPR is the medical term for a process that involves chest compression and mouth to mouth rescue breathing for the revival of an unconscious individual whose breathing and heartbeat have apparently stopped. No, this cannot be performed thoughtlessly without a training or experience just by watching a couple of movies that suggest slapping and trying to encourage the victim could bring him back. For those of my readers who would like to know, CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation that breaks down to cardio-heart, pulmonary-lungs, resuscitation-reviving from unconsciousness.
How is CPR performed?
Now that we know what CPR is, we should proceed to see how an effective CPR could be performed to reestablish blood and oxygen supply within the body. The two basic elements intrinsic to successful CPR execution are:
- Chest Compression (keeps blood circulation on through the brain and the body)
- Rescue Breathing (forces air into the lungs and simulate breathing)
Step 1: Ensure that it is safe to access the victim before approaching to initiate CPR. For example, the victim might have been hit by a high voltage current and the current could be still flowing through him.
Step 2: Make sure the victim is on a solid surface, preferably a concrete floor or something hard like that.
Step 3: Initiate Chest Compression, 30 chest compression in a cycle. How? Place the palm of one hand in the center of victim's chest and the other one above it interlocking your fingers. Arms straight, lean over the victim so that your shoulders come over the victim's chest as this would make it easier to compress hard and fast (100-120 compression per minute) .
Note:
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For adults- minimum 2 inches compression
For children- approximately 2 inches compression
For infants(below 1 year)- 1.5 inches compression (use 2 fingers instead of both hands)
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Step 4: As soon as you're done with 30 chest compression, next deliver 2 rescue breaths, tilt the head back and lift the chin to open the airway.
Step 5: Pinch the nose to close it. You do not want any air to flow out.
Step 6: Give in the first breath for a minimum of 1 second. See if the victim's chest rises as you blow in the breath. If not try readjusting and re-tilting the head. If the breath still doesn't get in there, it may be an obstruction blocking it's path.
Step 7: If visible, remove the obstruction by finger and in any other case, use Heimlich Maneuver by grabbing and pressing the abdomen from the back to clear the airway.
Step 8: Deliver the second rescue breath in the same manner.
Note:
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For infants, you need not pinch close the nose. Just cover the mouth by your mouth and blow air.
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Following warning signals may call for a CPR:
- A heart attack/ cardiac arrest
- An electric shock
- A fatal fall causing injuries
- Drowning and many more
The chances of surviving a cardiac arrest is nearly negligible if the victim is not facilitated an immediate quality CPR followed by a medical aid. Everyone should ideally be aware of the technique in case you are called for an emergency. Now that you know things theoretically, try finding a first aid training center near you to get a hands on experience. I assure you this won't count in your expenditures. It is definitely an investment.
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