General people trained in basic life support may contribute to life-saving situations.
If someone is unconscious and not breathing
CPR can be carried out by hand:
- Position the heel of your hand at the center of the person’s chest and place the other hand on top of your first hand and interlock your fingers
- Firmly position your shoulders above your hands
- Press straight down on the chest using your body weight (not just your arms). Keeping the hands on the chest, release the compression
- The process needs to be repeated with compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 times per minute until an ambulance arrives
CPR with rescue breaths:
If a person is trained in CPR, including rescue breaths, and feels confident, he/she should give chest compressions with rescue breaths.
- Following the procedure shown above after every 30 chest compressions, give two rescue breaths
- The casualty’s head should be tilted gently and the chin should be lifted up. By pinching the casualty’s nose and sealing his mouth, air must be blown steadily and firmly into the mouth for about one second. The chest should rise. Two rescue breaths must be given.
- This cycle of 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths must be repeated until they begin to recover or emergency help arrives