CPR
Created | Updated Feb 19, 2003
You are walking down the street on your way home from school. A small crowd gathered around a public basketball court. Your curiosity getting the better of you, you approach the crowd to find a teenager lying on the floor, his face pale. The people inform you that the boy had fainted in the midst of a game. His pulse absent, his chest, motionless. The ambulance has been called, but will he survive?
The youth is suffering from cardioplumonary arrest, which simply means his heart is not functioning. You can up the chances of him surviving, if you equip yourself with the life saving skill of cardioplumonary resuscutation, commonly known as CPR.
Cadiopulmonary arrest is when the heart(cardio) and lungs(pulmonary) do not work. In short, you're not breathing and your hear isn't beating. There are many causes of cardiopulmonary arrest, these include
During cardiopulmonary arrest, the heart stops beating, which impedes the movement of blood to the vital organs and tissues in your body. This in turn stops oxygen, carried in your bloodstream, from reaching the organs and tissues. During cardiopulmonary arrest, an elapsed time of four to six minutes without oxygen supply, your brain cells begin die. It is extremely dangerous and many do not survive long during cardiopulmonary arrest.
CPR is a first aid technique, which basically means it helps to keep the casualty alive before medical help arrives. The two main goals of CPR are to ensure the blood and air is flowing throughout the body.
CPR is relatively simple to execute, but can be life thretening if performed incorrectly, so do not perform CPR unless you have a very clear idea of how to execute it. This entry is a simple overview on how CPR should be executed.
The very first step in CPR is to check the consciousness of the casualty. Do this by tapping on both his/her shoulder quickly and simultaneously repeting loudly "Are you okay? Are you okay?" You may want to try shaking the casualty a bit if there is no response. Make sure the casualty is really unconscious, then proceed to checking if the casualty is breathing. Three simple steps: Look out for the rise and fall of the chest. Listen for the sounds of breathing. Feel the casualty's breath on your cheek. When the casualty is confirmed unconscious and not breathing, call 911 immediately for an ambulance.
The youth is suffering from cardioplumonary arrest, which simply means his heart is not functioning. You can up the chances of him surviving, if you equip yourself with the life saving skill of cardioplumonary resuscutation, commonly known as CPR.
Cardiopulmonary Arrest
Cadiopulmonary arrest is when the heart(cardio) and lungs(pulmonary) do not work. In short, you're not breathing and your hear isn't beating. There are many causes of cardiopulmonary arrest, these include
- Severe blood loss
- Heart attack
- Electric shock
- Drug overdose
- Hypothermia1
- Suffocation
- Anaphylactic shock2
- And many more
During cardiopulmonary arrest, the heart stops beating, which impedes the movement of blood to the vital organs and tissues in your body. This in turn stops oxygen, carried in your bloodstream, from reaching the organs and tissues. During cardiopulmonary arrest, an elapsed time of four to six minutes without oxygen supply, your brain cells begin die. It is extremely dangerous and many do not survive long during cardiopulmonary arrest.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(CPR)3
CPR is a first aid technique, which basically means it helps to keep the casualty alive before medical help arrives. The two main goals of CPR are to ensure the blood and air is flowing throughout the body.
CPR is relatively simple to execute, but can be life thretening if performed incorrectly, so do not perform CPR unless you have a very clear idea of how to execute it. This entry is a simple overview on how CPR should be executed.
The very first step in CPR is to check the consciousness of the casualty. Do this by tapping on both his/her shoulder quickly and simultaneously repeting loudly "Are you okay? Are you okay?" You may want to try shaking the casualty a bit if there is no response. Make sure the casualty is really unconscious, then proceed to checking if the casualty is breathing. Three simple steps: Look out for the rise and fall of the chest. Listen for the sounds of breathing. Feel the casualty's breath on your cheek. When the casualty is confirmed unconscious and not breathing, call 911 immediately for an ambulance.
1When body temperature falls below 35°C(95°F) 2An reaction triggered by allergy to a particular substance.3Take note that this entry is not a manual for CPR. Never attempt CPR unless you've have proper training as instructions given in this article may not be clear and may be carried out incorrectly and may cause harm to a casualty.
