Cardiac Arrest and CPR
Cardiac Arrest and CPR
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When the heart stops, the blood supply to the brain also stops. The victim will collapse unconscious and will be unresponsive. Breathing also stops, although it may take a few minutes to stop completely. For the first few minutes the victim may take noisy, infrequent or gasping breaths. The key features of cardiac arrest are therefore someone who is unconscious, unresponsive and not breathing normally. Taking noisy, infrequent or gasping breaths is not normal breathing.
If you have any doubt whether someone is breathing normally or not, assume that it is not normal: call for help immediately and start CPR.
Getting Immediate Help and Giving CPR
A cardiac arrest is an emergency. If you witness a cardiac arrest, you can increase the person’s chances of survival by getting help immediately and giving CPR.
Who Do I Call?
Find out your location's emergency telephone number if in a healthcare setting Or Call the emergency services on 999 or 111 for urgent enquiries.
You can summon help at the scene using a mobile phone (put it on speaker phone). If it is not possible to telephone for help at the scene, send a bystander to fetch help. If possible, the victim should not be left alone at any stage. Only leave them if there is no other way of obtaining help.
Giving Information
Giving Information
When summoning or calling for help you need to be able to give as much accurate information as possible. You will not be expected to make a full diagnosis. If you are unsure of the full details or what has happened, give as much detail as you can:
Be clear about the help required: Suspected cardiac arrest
State whom/what you want: Resuscitation team in a hospital, otherwise an ambulance
Be clear about the location: Where are you, for example, room, floor, building, etc
Ask for a defibrillator, otherwise known as an automated external defibrillator or AED
Stay calm and repeat if necessary.
If the person is not breathing or not breathing normally, you need to give CPR.
Chest compressions
Kneel next to the person
Place the heel of one hand in the centre of their chest. Place your other hand on top of the first. Interlock your fingers. You'll find it easier if you have the hand you write with on top
With straight arms, use the heel of your hand to push the breastbone down firmly and smoothly, so that the chest is pressed down 5–6 cm and release without removing hands from the chest
Do this at a rate of 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute – that’s almost two per second
Give 30 chest compressions. You may find it helpful to count out loud
Rescue breaths
If you’d rather not give rescue breaths, then deliver hands-only CPR.
Open the airway again by tilting the head back and lifting the chin. Pinch the soft part of the person’s nose closed
Take a normal breath, make a seal around their mouth and breathe out steadily
The person’s chest should rise. Keeping the person's head back and the chin lifted, take your mouth away and you should see the patient's chest fall. Then give a second rescue breath. The two breaths should take no longer than 5 seconds
Repeat 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths.
Keep going until professional help arrives and takes over, or the person starts to show signs of regaining consciousness, such as coughing, opening their eyes, speaking, or breathing normally.
Hands-only CPR is better than doing nothing.
If you are exhausted, instruct someone to continue while you regain energy.
What to do When Someone is Unconscious
If you come across someone who is unconscious, you must do the following:
Check for danger
Approach them with care. Look out for hazards such as fire, traffic and electricity and never put yourself at risk.
Check for a response
Gently shake the person’s shoulders and ask loudly ‘Are you alright?’
Shout for help
If someone is nearby, ask them to stay - you might need them. If you are alone, shout loudly to attract attention, but do not leave the person.
Open their airway
Place one hand on the person’s forehead, gently tilt their head back, then lift their chin using two fingers of your other hand under their chin – when you do this you open their airway.
Call for help
If the person is unconscious but breathing normally consider placing them in the recovery position. Call emergency services, and stay with the person until help arrives.
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