How to Perform CPR Safely: a 10-Step Guide
CPR is one of the most common life-saving procedures that Americans know about. If you’re curious about CPR, or if you want to brush up on your CPR knowledge, there’s no better time than now. To give you a quick primer on how to perform CPR safely, here’s a handy 10-step guide on the process:
1. Analyze the Scene
Before anything else, you need to make sure you’re completely aware of the scene around you, and the state of the victim you’ll be treating. You want to make sure you are not in the way of traffic, or any other hazard, before beginning CPR. You will learn how to properly analyze the scene, and prepare to administer CPR correctly, by hiring protrainings.com to ensure you know the current CPR standards.
2. Call 911 ASAP
Even if you’re a CPR expert, you can only do so much for your victim. After all, CPR is meant to be a life-saving pre-treatment to help stabilize victims as you wait for professional EMS members to arrive on the scene. If you fail to call 911 ASAP, you’ll be putting the victim in direct danger (and could even face legal blame in some states). To be safe, you should call 911 (or have someone nearby call 911) as soon as you begin to consider the CPR process ahead.
3. Check the Victim’s Breathing and Pulse
Before you can understand how to approach the rest of the CPR process, you’ll need to check in on the victim’s pulse and breathing rate. You want to make sure that the pulse and breathing rate is actually at a dangerously low level, and that CPR is actually needed, after all. If you do CPR just for the sake of doing CPR, you could end up harming the victim accidentally, so being vigilant about this step in the process is crucial.
4. Position the Victim Properly
Before you can begin administering CPR, you’ll need to make sure the person you’re treating is properly positioned. You should ensure they are on a firm, flat surface, and that they are lying flat on their back. Once you’ve ensured this, and have made sure there are no hazards in their immediate area, you can begin the process of actually performing potentially life-saving CPR on the victim.
5. Begin Chest Compressions
Now that you are beginning CPR, you will need to give thirty chest compressions to the victim. Doing so exactly as you’ve been instructed to is crucial, and will make all the difference in stabilizing the victim’s pulse and breathing rate. Be sure to remain firm and consistent when doing the chest compressions, so that you can achieve the best results.
6. Open the Victim’s Airway
After giving chest compressions, you’ll want to check the victim’s airway by using the head tilt-chin lift technique. Doing so will ensure you can remove anything that’s obscuring the airways with further chest compressions. However, you mustn’t go against your CPR training when trying to remove an obstruction, as you could cause serious, lasting damage to the person you’re treating.
7. Begin Rescue Breaths
Now that you’ve handled the airways, and made sure they are not obstructed, you can begin giving rescue breaths. Doing so will help stabilize the victim’s pulse and breathing rate, so this is one of the most essential parts of CPR. Be patient, and make sure you are giving your all during this all-important step.
8. Repeat the CPR Cycle
You have now completed the first cycle of administering CPR. As you wait for EMS to arrive, you should simply repeat this cycle. Doing so will help ensure the victim remains stable (or stable). However, be sure to cease performing CPR if it becomes dangerous to do so, or if the victim has become fully stabilized.
9. Use AED Once It’s Available
Once EMS has arrived, or if you have proper certification, it may be important to use an AED (automated external defibrillator). However, this should only be used in very specific circumstances, and should never be used by someone who is not properly certified in its usage (as this can lead to dangerous complications).
10. Continue to Assist the Victim Until EMS Arrives
Now that you’ve handled all other aspects of the CPR process, you should simply continue to assist the victim in any way you can until EMS arrives. Whether this means continuing to do CPR, or comforting them until EMS arrives, will depend on the situation. The more prepared and vigilant you are during this process, the more effectively you can care for the victim that you’re treating.
