CPR and defibrillators

Someone has collapsed and isn't breathing normally. This is a cardiac arrest. Their heart has stopped pumping. You cannot make things worse. Every minute without CPR cuts their chance of survival by about 10%.

Adult CPR, step by step

1. Check for a response. Shake their shoulders firmly and shout "Are you alright?" No response: shout for help.
2. Check breathing. Tilt the head back, lift the chin, look at the chest for up to 10 seconds. Occasional gasps, snoring or gurgling are not normal breathing. If in doubt, treat it as not breathing.
3. Call 999 on speaker. If someone else is there, send them to find a defibrillator. Don't send them if you're alone: start CPR instead.
4. Kneel beside them. Heel of one hand on the centre of the chest, other hand on top, fingers interlocked. Arms straight, shoulders directly over your hands.
5. Push hard and fast. 5 to 6 cm deep, about a third of the chest depth. 100 to 120 per minute. Let the chest come all the way up between pushes. Use the pacer above or the beat of "Stayin' Alive".
6. Rescue breaths, if you can. After 30 compressions, tilt the head back, pinch the nose, seal your mouth over theirs and blow for one second until the chest rises. Two breaths, then back to compressions. If you can't or don't want to, just keep doing compressions. That's still CPR.
7. Don't stop. Not to check for a pulse, not to see if they're breathing. Only stop if they clearly wake up and breathe normally, a defibrillator tells you to stand clear, or the ambulance crew takes over. Swap with someone every 2 minutes if you can, with as little pause as possible.

Using a defibrillator (AED)

Anyone can use one. It talks you through it. It will only deliver a shock if the heart rhythm needs one, so you cannot hurt someone with it.

1. Turn it on. Open the lid or press the green button. Follow the voice.
2. Bare the chest. Cut or rip clothing. Remove a bra if necessary. Wipe the chest if it's wet. Shave thick hair if there's a razor in the kit, otherwise press pads on hard.
3. Stick the pads on as shown on the pictures. One below the right collarbone, one on the left side below the armpit. Keep doing compressions while someone else does this.
4. "Analysing. Stand clear." Stop CPR and make sure nobody is touching them.
5. If it says shock: press the button when told. Make sure everyone is clear. Some AEDs shock automatically.
6. Start compressions again immediately. Whatever it said. The AED will re-check every 2 minutes and tell you what to do.

Children and babies

• Child (1 year to puberty): give 5 rescue breaths first, then 30 compressions with one or two hands, about a third of the chest depth, then 2 breaths. Use an AED with child pads if available, adult pads if not.
• Baby (under 1): 5 gentle breaths covering mouth and nose, then compressions with two fingers in the centre of the chest, a third of the depth, 30:2.
• Cardiac arrest in children is nearly always caused by a breathing problem, which is why breaths come first.

Common worries

Learn it properly in 15 minutes

The British Heart Foundation's RevivR teaches CPR on your phone using a cushion, in 15 minutes, free. Do it today. The person you use it on is most likely to be someone you love, at home.