Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique that’s useful in many emergencies, such as a cardiac arrest or near drowning, in which someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. The American Heart Association recommends starting CPR with hard and fast chest compressions.
The “Art” stated here is based on the premise that optimal cardiac arrest resuscitation is directly influenced by high-quality CPR.
Let’s delve a little into the foundations of high-quality chest compressions. Compressing the chest during CPR, pumps blood from the heart to the brain and the rest of the body. Each time you stop chest compressions, the blood flow from the heart to the brain and other organs ceases. Once you resume compressions, it takes several compressions to bring the blood flow back up to the levels present before the interruption. Thus, the more often you interrupt chest compressions and the longer the interruptions are, the lower the blood supply to the brain and critical organs.
When a victim is not breathing normally or is only gasping and has no pulse, begin the “art” of CPR, starting with chest compressions.
HOW CAN I POSITION A VICTIM?
The positioning of the victim is very important during this procedure, so the real question is, How can I place the victim in the right way?
Here we go; position the victim faceup on a firm, flat surface, such as the floor or a backboard. This will help ensure that the chest compressions are as effective as possible. If the victim is on a soft surface, such as a mattress, the force from the chest compressions will simply push the victim’s body into the soft surface. A firm surface allows compression of the chest and the heart to create adequate blood flow.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO DURING CPR (this is not ART)
Do not move the victim while CPR is in progress unless the victim is in a dangerous environment(such as a burning building) or you believe you cannot perform CPR effectively under the current circumstances.
