CPR

Your Guide to CPR

The aim of our CPR Self Help Guides is to provide you with information about the methods used to perform CPR.

If you would like to learn more about these issues CRI runs a variety of training programs for both individuals and organisations. Feel free to contact us for more information.

The instructions that follow are designed to provide information regarding the steps of CPR, utilizing guidelines developed by the American Heart Association and should not be substituted for attending a CRI or other affiliated training course.

Reviewing this material does not certify you in performing CPR on an actual victim. Before we get into the actual steps of performing CPR, let’s look at some important questions that you may be asking yourself already. The answers to these questions will provide a general understanding of the importance of CPR

This guide is provided for information purposes only. It is not a substitute to professional treatment. CRI accept not liability for the wrongful use of these guides.
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CPR

Cardio pulmonary resuscitation, CPR, encompasses more than one simple rescue technique for saving someone whose heart or breathing has stopped. Rather, it is an organised approach to assessing and dealing with a medical emergency. It requires learning the physical skills of artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth breathing) and closed chest compressions, as well as the proper timing and a specific sequence in which to use the skills.

The American Heart Association, which sets the standards for CPR training, uses the mnemonic "ABC to represent the three major functions restored by CPR:

• Airway
• Breathing
• Circulation

It is strongly recommended that those who wish to learn CPR take a formal course offered by CRI or another internationally recognised institution, which allows adequate time to practice on a training mannequin under close supervision of an instructor.

Always perform life support techniques as quickly as possible after an injury. Except under very unusual circumstances, brain damage is likely to occur 4 to 6 minutes after cardiopulmonary arrest and the likelihood and severity of this damage increases each minute there-after. In the case of a life-threatening medical emergency, life-support techniques should be offered in the following order:

1. Call for help
2. Restore breathing if breathing has stopped (particularly important for children pulled from the water).
3. Restore circulation if there is no heartbeat or pulse.
4. Stop any bleeding.
5. Treat for shock.

Contrary to popular belief, the survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is extremely low. The majority of the population believes that 7 out 10 people survive from cardiac arrest. The truth is only 1 or 2 people out of 10 survive, and many will argue that this number is exaggerated as well. Unfortunately, movies and television misrepresent the actual outcomes to make for better entertainment.

So, why do we do CPR then? Can’t we “bring someone back” with CPR?  Not likely. Once heartbeat and breathing have ceased, CPR has little impact on restarting the heart.  Electricity from a defibrillator is needed to restart the heart. We perform CPR to keep blood and oxygen circulating to the BRAIN! CPR is designed as a time saver!

Without circulation of blood and oxygen, BRAIN damage begins within four to six minutes! The BRAIN is usually dead after 10 minutes! CPR is performed to keep the brain alive and to prevent brain damage until the victim receives access to a defibrillator, or other advanced care. The defibrillator “brings people back,” IF it gets to the victim in time, usually within 5 minutes. Unfortunately, many people don’t have access to a defibrillator within 5 minutes. All the more reason to know CPR!

The most common cause of cardiac arrest in adults is still Heart Attacks!  The most common cause of cardiac arrest in children/infants is airway obstruction or respiratory failure. Other causes of cardiac arrest include stroke, trauma, overdose, drowning, and sometimes diabetic emergencies and seizures

CPR should be offered to victims who are unconscious and have no breath or heartbeat. When you approach an apparently unconscious person, call to and jar the victim to determine her or she is indeed unconscious or merely sleeping.

If the victim is indeed unconscious, you must be sure that the airway - passage between the mouth and lungs - is not blocked by the tongue or an object, which would prevent breathing. If there is no obstruction, determine if the victim is breathing and if there is a pulse, indicating circulation.

Depending on the state of the victim, you will start mouth-to-mouth breathing alone or chest compressions interspersed with breathing. You will continue until the victim revives, a trained person takes over, or you become exhausted