About CPR y What Does CPR Stand For?

Cardio = HEART Pulmonary = LUNGS Resuscitate = REVIVE Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation = Reviving the Heart and Lungs

CPR (or cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a combination of rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) and chest compressions. If someone isn't breathing or circulating blood adequately, CPR can restore circulation of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Without oxygen, permanent brain damage or death can occur in less than 8 minutes. CPR may be necessary during many different emergencies, including accidents, near-drowning, suffocation, poisoning, smoke inhalation, electrocution injuries, and suspected sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Purpose CPR is performed to restore and maintain breathing and circulation and to provide oxygen and blood flow to the heart, brain, and other vital organs. CPR can be performed by trained laypeople or healthcare professionals on infants, children, adolescents, and adults. CPR should be performed if an infant, child, or adolescent is unconscious and not breathing. Respiratory and cardiac arrest can be caused by allergic reactions, an ineffective heartbeat, asphyxiation, breathing passages that are blocked, choking, drowning, drug reactions or overdoses, electric shock, exposure to cold, severe shock, or trauma. In newborns, the most common cause of cardiopulmonary arrest is respiratory failure caused by sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), airway obstruction (usually from inhalation of a foreign body), sepsis, neurologic disease, or drowning. Cardiac arrest in children over one year of age is most commonly caused by shock and/or respiratory failure resulting from an accident or injury. When to use CPR? First, determine that it's safe to approach the person in trouble. For instance, if someone was injured in an accident on a busy highway, you'd have to be extremely careful about ongoing traffic as you try to help. Or if someone touched an exposed wire and was electrocuted, you'd have to be certain that he or she is no longer in contact with electricity before offering assistance to prevent becoming electrocuted yourself. (For instance, turn off the source of electricity, such as a light switch or a circuit breaker.) Once you know that you can safely approach someone who needs help, quickly evaluate whether the person is responsive. Look for things such as eye opening, sounds from the mouth, or other signs of life like movement of the arms and legs. In infants and younger kids, rubbing the chest (over the breastbone) can help determine if there is any level of responsiveness. In older kids and adults, this also can be done by gently shaking the shoulders and asking if they're all right.

The next step is to check if the victim is breathing. You can determine this by watching the person's chest for the rise and fall of breaths and listening for the sound of air going in and out of mouth or nose. In a CPR or basic life support (BLS) course, participants practice techniques for determining if breathing or circulation is adequate. If you can't determine whether someone is breathing, you should begin CPR and continue until help arrives. Whenever CPR is needed, remember to call for emergency medical assistance. Current CPR courses teach you that if you are alone with an unresponsive infant or child, give chest compressions for five cycles (about 2 minutes) before calling for help Precautions CPR should not be performed based on these demonstration and these theoretical learning. To prevent disease transmission during CPR, face masks and face shields are available to prevent direct contact during rescue breathing. Aftercare Emergency medical care is always necessary after CPR. Once a person's breathing and heartbeat have been is coming and talk positively until professionals arrive restored, the rescuer should make the person comfortable and stay there until emergency medical personnel arrive. The rescuer can continue to reassure the person that help and take over. Risks CPR can cause injury to a person's ribs, liver, lungs, and heart. However, these risks must be accepted if CPR is necessary to save the person's life. Normal Results In many cases, successful CPR results in restoration of consciousness and life. Barring other injuries, a revived person usually returns to normal functions within a few hours of being revived. Abnormal results include injuries incurred during CPR and lack of success with CPR. Possible sites for injuries include a person's ribs, liver, lungs, and heart. Partially successful CPR may result in brain damage. Unsuccessful CPR results in death.