CPR Mastery

 CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a life saving skill one should develop during emergency situations in which another individual has cardiac arrest, a stop in blood circulation due to the heart no longer pumping blood. It involves the rigorous compression of the chest, acting as a source of ventilation for the body as a means of maintaining brain operation until more cohesive methods are enacted in order to restore blood flow and breathing capabilities of the victim. Some preliminary signs of cardiac arrest include dizziness, collapse of the body, pain in the chest, and palpitations, resulting in eventual unresponsiveness and unconsciousness.  

If you see any of these symptoms occurring to an individual, immediately perform CPR onto his or her body, effectively doubling the chance of survival for the victim. When conducting CPR, first check if the person is breathing normally, in which case CPR is not needed, otherwise, quickly send someone to seek help by making an emergency call. After this has been done, proceed to kneel perpendicular to the body, interlock hands as shown in the image below, and push down hard at a rate of 100 times per minute in the center area of the chest (about two times per second). Note that each individual compression should be approximately 4-5 cm deep. Proceed to give rescue breaths to the patient at a rate of two breaths for every 30 chest compressions and keep on redoing this until medical help comes. If you do not feel comfortable giving rescue breaths or are not professionally trained, just do the chest compressions. Although these steps offer a comprehensive overview of how to do CPR, one should still be properly trained by a professional.