CARDIAC ARREST/ADULT CPR

Video transcript:
Your body position, hand placement and timing, are all important aspects of doing Adult CPR correctly. In this lesson you are going to practice each step with Connie.

For CPR to be effective, your hands need to be in the right place, which is in the center of the person's chest, like this.

First, place the heel of one hand in the center of the chest along the breast bone. Then, place your other hand on top and lace your fingers together. Position your shoulders directly over your hands, keep your arms straight and your fingers up off the chest. Press down on the chest, then let the chest come all the way up, like this. Down, up. Down, up. Good. Now, let's listen as Ryan gives us a couple more hints about how to do this correctly.

When you press down on the chest, press down about two inches deep, about this far. And be sure after you press down on the chest, you let the chest come all the way back up before you press down again. When you come up, don't take your hands off the chest. Just take your weight off the chest. These repeated down and up motions are called compressions. The down and up of each compression should be a smooth motion. Let's try some more compressions with Connie.

I'll give you a count down and we'll begin with hand placement. Ready. Three. Two. One. Go. Place your hands on the center of the chest. Position your shoulders over your hands. Begin compressions. Down, up. Down, up. Down, up. Down, up. Down, up. Good job, everybody.

For CPR to be effective, compressions need to be fast. 30 compressions should take about 18 seconds, I've set this metronome to that pace.

Now it's your turn to try compressions at this tempo. We'll do 30 compressions, then I'll tell you to stop. Everybody get into position to start giving compressions. Hands in the center of the chest; shoulders over hands. Try to keep the same pace. I'll give you a count down so everyone can start together. Ready? Three. Two. One. Go. And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. Now you've got a good feel for how fast those compressions need to go.

CPR is performed in what we call, cycles. One cycle of CPR includes 30 compressions, just like you've already practices, followed by two rescue breaths. Each breath should last about one second. Watch for the chest to rise with each breath. The cycle is then repeated: 30 compressions and two breaths; 30 compressions and two breaths. It is important to change from compressions to breaths and back to compressions as quick as possible. We'll start on the 15th compression, then give two rescue breaths, then a few more compressions. Just to get used to how it feels to make that change. I'll give you a count down and tell you what to do. Ready? Three. Two. One. Go. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Give two rescue breaths. One and two and three and four. You can stop now. Let's try the same thing one more time. We'll start on the 15th compression, give two breaths, then a few more compressions. I'll give you a count down. Three. Two. One. Go. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Give two rescue breaths. One and two and three and four. You can stop now.

What we're going to do now is have you put together all the parts of check, call, care for an unconscious person who is not breathing and shows no signs of life. So why don't you all remove the breathing barriers, then stand up and take a few steps away from your mannequins, so you can pretend you are approaching the scene for the first time. I'll talk you through all the steps, from checking the scene and checking for signs of life, through five cycles or about two minutes of CPR. Ready Connie? Ready Ryan? Ok, everybody ready? I'll give you a count down and then we'll all begin together. Ready? Three. Two. One. Go.

Check the scene for safety. The scene is safe. Check for consciousness. Are you ok? Are you ok? There is no response. Have someone call 9-1-1. She's unconscious, call 9-1-1. Open the airway. Look, listen and feel for signs of life for no more than ten seconds. One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand, five one-thousand, six one-thousand, seven one-thousand, eight one-thousand, nine one-thousand, ten one-thousand. There are no signs of life. Put your breathing barrier in place and give two rescue breaths. Check for bleeding as you place your hands in the center of the chest; shoulders over hands. Begin CPR. And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. Give two rescue breaths. And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. Give two rescue breaths. And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. Give two rescue breaths. And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. Give two rescue breaths. And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. You can stop now. Good job. Now you know how to do CPR. You know that your hand position, your body position, and speed are all important to perform adult CPR effectively. You may need to do CPR for several minutes before help arrives. You should continue CPR until you find any obvious sign of life, until an AED is ready to use, until an EMS or another trained responder is ready and takes over, until the scene becomes unsafe or until you are too tired to continue.