The Art of Compressions
This is the recommended depth of chest compressions for an adult victim.
What is at least 2 inches (5 cm)?
(but no more than 2.4 inches / 6 cm)
This is the very first step you should take as soon as an AED arrives at the scene.
What is turn it on?
Each rescue breath delivered during CPR should last exactly this long.
What is 1 second?
If a choking victim is pregnant or obese, you should perform these instead of abdominal thrusts.
What are chest thrusts?
One of the best public places to have a cardiac arrest; a magical place where witnessed cardiac arrests have been associated with survival rates as high as 74% when defibrillation occurs within 3 minutes.
What is a Casino?
For effective BLS, compressors should aim for this specific range of compressions per minute.
What is 100-120 compressions per minute?
If a victim has an implanted pacemaker, you should avoid placing the AED pad directly over it by doing this.
What is placing the pad at least 1 inch away (or using an alternative placement)?
When an advanced airway (like an endotracheal tube) is in place, compressions are continuous and breaths are given at this rate.
What is 1 breath every 6 seconds (10 breaths per minute)?
When relieving an airway obstruction in a conscious infant, the rescuer must keep the infant’s head in this position relative to its chest during back slaps.
What is lower than the chest (head-down position)?
Cell damage begins in just 4 minutes, but this is the maximum number of minutes the human brain can survive without blood flow before permanent, irreversible brain death occurs.
What is the 6 minute threshold?
This is the compression-to-ventilation ratio for 2-rescuer CPR on an infant.
What is 15:2?
You must immediately clear the victim when the AED delivers this specific verbal prompt.
What is "Analyzing heart rhythm" (or "Shock advised/delivering shock")?
Delivering breaths too fast or with too much force can cause this complication, leading to vomiting.
What is gastric inflation (or abdominal distension)?
When a choking victim loses consciousness, you must activate EMS, lower them to the floor, and perform this action next, even if a pulse is present.
What is start chest compressions (or begin CPR)?
Controversies surrounding this person's past research and more, such as for their decades long "death blows" claims, where they falsely declared back blows to cause food deeper into the airway, their name was removed from official guidelines.
Who is Dr. Henry Heimlich?
Failing to allow for this action between compressions traps pressure inside the chest, severely reducing blood flow back to the heart.
What is Chest Recoil?
This is the preferred AED modification or pad type for a child under 8 years of age.
What are pediatric pads (or a pediatric dose attenuator)?
This airway opening technique should be used if you suspect a victim has a spinal or neck injury.
What is the jaw-thrust maneuver?
No longer just for infants, a series of 5 of these forceful impacts delivered between the shoulder blades should now be alternated with abdominal thrusts to save a choking adult.
What are back blows (or back slaps)?
Can’t Stop the Feeling – Justin Timberlake
One Dance – Drake, Wizkid
Just Dance – Lady Gaga, Colby O’Donis
Poker Face – Just Dance
Uptown Funk
Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars
Take a Chance on Me – ABBA
Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
When performing compressions on a pregnant patient, this modification to the uterus should be done to relieve pressure on the vena cava.
What is left lateral uterine displacement?
These two specific, chaotic heart rhythms are the only ones an AED will advise a shock for during cardiac arrest.
What are Ventricular Fibrillation (V-Fib) and Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia (pVT)?
This is the primary visual sign that a rescue breath has been delivered effectively.
What is visible chest rise?
If a choking victim is under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or has a neuromuscular disorder, this secondary hazard is a major reason you must check their mouth during CPR rather than performing blind finger sweeps.
What is aspiration (or inhaling vomit/foreign material)?
When Michael Jackson and his family took a CPR class in the 1980s, the instructor taught them to check a mannequin’s responsiveness by shouting this woman's name, inspiring a hit song.
What is "Annie, are you OK?".