Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

The goal of Basic life support(BLS) is to provide oxygen to the brain and heart until definitive treatment(Advance cardiac life support) can be delivered.

The ABCs of basic life support include Airways,Breathing and Circulation,
the following procedures are recommend

1. Determine responsiveness by gently shaking the patient
2. Call for another who can help
3. Positive the patient on a firm and flat surface
4. Open the patient's mouth,remove all foreign body
5. Open the airway,the head tilt chin lift is the manuever of choice,if the neck injury is suspected ,avoid the head tilt and use the jaw thrust
6. Assess for the presence of respiration with the airway open,place your ear above the patient's mouth to listen and feel for airflow while observing for chest movement
7. If spontaneous respiration is not present,gently pinch the patient's nose closed with index finger and thumb of the hand that is on the forehead.Make a tight seal over the patient's mouth and give 2 slow breaths(1.5-2.0 seconds/breath) followed by 10-12 breaths/minute.Take a breath after each ventilation
8. Palpate the patient's carotid pulse for at least 5 seconds.If a carotid pulse is present, continue rescue breath at a rate of 10-12 slow breaths/minute
9. In the absence of a corotid pulse,initiate chest compression .

   The recommend compression rate is 80-100/minute.Assess the adequacy of compression by periodically palpating the carotid pulse.
   During one rescue,15 chest compressions should followed by 2 ventilations.
   For two rescuers,the compressio-ventilation ratio is 5:1 with a 1.0-1.5seconds pause for ventilation after 5 compression.Once the patient is intubated,ventilation can be given at a rate of 12-15/minute without pausing for compression.