CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. It is a lifesaving technique that can be useful in many medical emergencies. If a person’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped, as can happen during a heart attack or a drowning accident, performing CPR can mean the difference between the person’s life and death.

When To Perform CPR:

CPR should be performed when a person stops breathing and becomes unresponsive. The most common situations this can happen is when a person suffers from cardiac arrest or when a person accidentally gets drowned in water. A vast majority of cardiac arrests occur in home, so learning CPR greatly improves the odds of averting untimely deaths of many a loved one.

How Does CPR Help:

The oxygen in the air we breathe is absorbed into our blood stream, and it is carried to all our vital organs by the pumping of our heart. If the heart stops beating, the blood circulation stops, and this prevents the oxygen from reaching our vital organs. Lack of oxygen quickly kills the cells and tissues, and death will occur in less than 10 minutes, unless the heartbeat is restored. Heartbeat can be restored by a medical device called defibrillator, which applies electric shock to the heart. As many medical emergencies occur outside of a hospital, a defibrillator is almost never readily available. During such emergency situations when a person becomes unresponsive and stops breathing, performing CPR can restore the victim’s heart rhythm at least temporarily, until medical help arrives. As the heart rhythm is restored, blood continues to circulate through the person’s body, and the oxygen supply to all the vital organs remains uninterrupted.

The CPR Technique:

CPR involves applying a combination of mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing and chest compression in quick succession on the affected person. Below are the basic steps to perform CPR when a person stops breathing and becomes unresponsive:

1. Place the person on his or her back on a hard surface. Kneel next to the person.

2. Using both your hands one over the other, push hard and fast on the center of the person’s chest. Pump this way on the person’s chest 30 times, at the rate of almost twice a second.

3. Tilt the person’s head upwards, and lift the chin gently. This opens the person’s airway.

4. Pinch the nose and blow air into the person’s mouth with your mouth for about a second. Do this twice.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until help arrives or until the person resumes normal breathing.

In the event the CPR needs to be performed on a complete stranger as opposed to a loved one, many people hesitate to do a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation due to the fear of infection. In such situations, a hands-only CPR technique can be performed. It is essentially same as performing the step 2 above, at the rate of 100 pushes a minute, until the person awakens or help arrives.

CPR should never be practiced on another person, but the technique can be mastered by attending formal CPR training. CPR classes can be taken by contacting the American Heart Association or by enrolling in CPR online courses.