BASIC

LIFE
SUPPORT
CPR Cardiopulmonary
resuscitation

an emergency procedure which is

performed in an effort to manually
preserve intact brain function until
further measures are taken to restore
spontaneous blood circulation and
breathing in a person in cardiac
arrest.
Who needs CPR?

Patients suffering CVS emergencies

particularly sudden cardiac arrest
(adults, children, infants and
newborn)
How does it work?

All living cells of our body need a

steady supply of oxygen to keep us
alive
Breath air into the victim’s lungs to
provide oxygen into the blood
Press on the chest to move the
oxygenated blood through the body
How to recognize?
Heart attack
Chest pain (center, underneath sternum)
May spread to lower jaw, shoulder,
upper arm, epigastric area
Lasts longer than few minutes
Nausea, sweating, light-headedness
shortness of breath, fainting
Cardiac arrest
Unconscious, breathless, pulseless
Stroke
Speech difficulties, Facial droop, Arm
weakness
Foreign body airway obstruction
Inability to speak or cough effectively,
bluish color of skin and lips
What to do?
1. Survey the scene
Ensure your safety and the victim’s safety
Get some idea of what happened

2. Check for unresponsiveness and

simultaneously check for breathing
Gently tap victim’s shoulder and ask “Hey are
you okay?”
Check for No Breathing or No Normal
Breathing
3. Activate EMS of your locality
If victim is unresponsive, call for help
Get AED/defibrillator

4. Check for pulse

Locate the Adam’s apple with middle
and index finger  slide finger down
into the groove of the neck on the side
closer to the rescuer  feel carotid
artery pulse for 5-10 seconds
If there is no pulse, start chest
compression (C-A-B)
AED- Automated External
Defibrillator
Internal Carotid Artery
-Goes directly to brain into Circle of
Willis

External Carotid Artery

- Supplies the oral cavity via the

maxillary artery
defibrillation
Uses electric shock to reset the
electrical state of the heart so that it
may beat to a rhythm controlled by its
own natural pacemaker cells.
Necessary to restore normal sinus
rhythm in a patient having a
ventricular fibrillation arrest.
COMPRESSION
Compression

Place the heel of your hand on the

lower half of the sternum in the center
(middle) of the chest, between nipples

Place the heel of 2nd hand on top of

the 1st so that the hands are
overlapped and parallel
Position yourself properly

Depress the sternum at least 2 inches

and then allow the chest to return to
its normal position (chest recoil).
Compression and chest recoil times
should be approximately equal.
AIRWAY
Airway

Open up the airway by doing head-

tilt chin-lift method
Avoid the closing of victim’s mouth
Finger sweep
If neck injury is suspected, attempt to do
jaw thrust. If not effective, do head-tilt
chin-lift method
Head tilt chin lift
Jaw thrust- performed if the patient
has suspected cervical injury
BREATHING
Breathing
Give 2 rescue breaths after 30
compressions
Maintain the airway open
Pinch the nose closed
Breathe normally
Tight seal around victim’s mouth
Blow air into the victim’s mouth for no
more than 1 sec while looking at the
chest for visible chest rise
Release nose and mouth to allow time
for exhalation
30 compressions : 2 breath cycles
Continued until:
AED arrives
Advance airway is placed making it an
unsynchronized CPR
There is return of spontaneous circulation
Resuscitative efforts are terminated

After the return of spontaneous

circulation, put the victim in recovery
position.
Recovery position

Extend victim’s arm nearest you

above victim’s head
Pull victim on that side (towards you)
Position should be stable, near true
lateral position, with the head
dependent and no pressure on the
chest to impair breathing
Monitor the victim
Recovery Position
C-A-B sequence rationale

During the first minutes of arrest, O2

content of non-circulating arterial
blood remains unchanged until CPR
is initiated.

Attempts to open airway and give

rescue breaths (or to access and set
up airway equipment) may delay
initiation of chest compressions.
Pediatric CPR

Same as adults
Modification on adequate depth of
compression:
Infants- at least 1.5 inches (4cm)
Children – at least 2 inches (5cm)
De-emphasis of pulse check
Manual defibrillator preferred
Pediatric CPR
FOREIGN BODY
AIRWAY
OBSTRUCTION
Choking
Classified into Mild and Severe
Mild FBAO with GOOD air exchange
Can speak, breathe, cough effectively
Severe FBAO or Mild obstruction with
POOR air exchange
Weak, ineffective cough or cough becomes
silent
High pitch noise on inhalation
cyanosis
If obstruction is mild and victim is able
to cough, do not interfere.
Methods to relieve FBAO
Heimlich maneuver (abdominal thrusts)
Back blows or slaps
Chest thrusts (infants, pregnant, obese)
Management of FBAO

Ask the victim if he is choking

If the victim can speak in sentences

or cough effectively, DO NOT
interfere.
If the victim cannot speak nor cough
effectively…
Stand behind the victim (one foot forward,
between patient’s legs)
Wrap your arms around his body, grab his arms
and put them down
Make a fist with your other hand
Place thumb side of the fist on victim’s
abdomen, slightly above the navel and way
below the xiphoid process
Grasp the fist with your other hand then provide
a quick distinct inward and upward thrusts
into victim’s abdomen. Repeat thrusts and
continue until the object is expelled or the victim
becomes unconscious.
Heimlich Maneuver
If the patient becomes unconscious..
Activate EMS (emergency medical
services)
Start CPR
Each time you open the airway, look for
visible obstructions before delivering 2
rescue breaths. Attempt to remove
visible obstructions with finger sweep.
DO NOT attempt to do blind finger
sweep.
Relief of FBAO in a conscious child

If the child is standing, rescuer may

kneel behind the victim and perform
abdominal thrusts as described in
adults.

DO NOT perform blind finger sweep.

Relief of FBAO in conscious infant

Determine if the infant is choking. Observe

for breathing difficulties, ineffective cough
& skin color.

Support head, neck & back with your hand

and forearm

Hold the face with your other hand while

supporting the chest with your forearm.
Turn the infant face down over one
arm. Head must be lower than the
trunk.

Deliver up to 5 back blows in between

shoulder blades.

Hold his head and neck with your

other hand and support the back with
your forearm. Turn him face up.
Deliver up to 5 thrusts in the mid
chest using same landmarks as for
CPR

Continue series of 5 back blows and 5

chest thrusts until object is expelled or
infant becomes unconscious.
Reference:
Basic Life Support Course Manual for
Healthcare Provider by Scarlett Mia
Tabuñar, MD, FPBECP