You may have heard of CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is a life-saving technique that can be used in emergency situations to revive someone who has stopped breathing. But how effective is CPR? Is it really possible to bring someone back to life with this technique? In this blog post, we will explore the success rate of CPR and find out how effective it really is!
When Should I Use CPR? What is it?
In an emergency, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can help save a person’s life if their breathing or heart stops.
A person is in cardiac arrest when their heart stops beating. The heart is unable to pump blood to the rest of the body during cardiac arrest, including the brain and lungs. Without treatment, death can occur in a matter of minutes. This is an example of when to perform CPR using chest compressions to stimulate the heart’s pumping action. These compressions support the body’s natural blood circulation.
CPR can Save Many Lives
Roughly 9 out of 10 persons who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital pass away. However, CPR can reduce those chances. CPR can increase a person’s probability of survival by two or three times if it is done within the first few minutes following a cardiac arrest.
In Australia’s cardiac arrest details, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed by a bystander increases survival rates after a cardiac arrest. Every minute without First Aid sees a 10% decrease in cardiac arrest survival rates. There are only four minutes to get the heart pumping again before there is a risk of permanent brain damage. Australia’s average response time for an ambulance is 11 minutes. Emergency CPR and defibrillation will not be effective by that point, and the person may pass away. A sudden cardiac arrest frequently occurs in a public setting and even at home. One must step up and provide emergency First Aid to survive. Wouldn’t it be great if you would be skilled to do CPR and save a life in case an emergency situation arises?
Learn How to Save a Life
To conduct CPR, you don’t need a specific license or professional training, but you do need knowledge. Stay composed if someone close to you experiences cardiac arrest; simply be ready! If you notice someone having a cardiac arrest, take these actions:
According to the Australian Red Cross, here are the following steps:
If someone is not moving and does not respond when you call them or gently shake their shoulders, they are unresponsive.
- Check their breathing by tilting their head back and looking and feeling for breaths. Open their airway by tilting their head back. If they are not breathing, their chest and stomach will not be moving and you will not hear their breath or feel their breaths. If they are not breathing, move on to step two.
- Call 000 as soon as possible. If you can’t call 000, get someone else to do it.
- Give chest compressions: push firmly downwards in the middle of the chest and then release.
- Continue to push in this way at a regular rate until help arrives. These are called check compressions.
Learning CPR techniques can be done with CPR First Aid Liverpool. Here’s a preview of some of their CPR lectures:
The Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) recommends using the following 7-step acronym when caring for the casualty – DRSABCD
- DANGER
- RESPONSIVENESS
- SEND
- AIRWAY
- BREATHING
- CPR
- DEFIBRILLATION
D – DANGER: Check the scene safety from an initial impression and use personal protective equipment (PPE).
R – RESPONSIVENESS: Check for responsiveness, breathing, life-threatening bleeding, or other life-threatening conditions. Shout “Hello, can you hear me?”.
S – SEND FOR HELP: If the person does not respond and is not breathing or only gasping, send someone for help, requesting they call 000 and get any required equipment, first aid kits, or AED if available.
A – AIRWAY OPEN: Do head tilt, chin-lift manoeuvre and check the airway for any blockages. If there is a blockage roll onto the side and clear it by scooping with a finger.
B – BREATHING NORMAL? If yes, place it in the recovery position and check every 10 seconds. If not, place on hard service and do CPR.
C – CPR START:
Give 30 chest compressions
- Hand position: Two hands centred on the chest (adult); one hand (child); 2 fingers (infant/baby)
- Body position: Shoulders directly over hands; elbows locked
- Depth: At least 2 inches
- Rate: 100 to 120 per minute
- Allow the chest to return to normal position after each compression
Give 2 breaths
- Use CPR face shield
- Open the airway – Do head tilt, chin lift manoeuvre (adult), slight head tilt (child), no head tilt (infant/baby)
- Pinch nose and pull-down jaw to open mouth (for infants cover nose and mouth with your mouth)
- Ensure each breath lasts about 1 second and makes the chest rise; allow air to exit before giving the next breath
- Rescue breaths for infants, children and adults are 2 breaths of mouth-to-mouth for every 30 chest compressions. However, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, it may be optional depending on the assessment and ethical considerations. We have the guidance for performing breathing assessments and rescue breaths for infants, children and adults.
D – DEFIBRILLATOR: Attach Defibrillator (AED). Locate an AED if available and attach pads on the casualty to start assessing heart rhythm. Continue CPR as instructed by the device until emergency services arrive.
Can I Enroll in a CPR Course in Liverpool?
CPR First Aid is glad to offer 
HLTAID009 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Liverpool, Australia. This is offered by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)- regulated first aid course providers in Liverpool.
What is the 
HLTAID009 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation First Aid Course?
This course provides the skills and knowledge required to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in line with the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) Guidelines. This CPR update course is the most recent version of what is often referred to as the CPR Update or CPR Refresher.
Conclusion
CPR is one of the first aid skills that has been shown to increase cardiac arrest survivability, yet it is challenging to perform well. You need to acquire proper skills and knowledge and must be able to execute it properly. Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening emergency, in which the heart suddenly stops beating. Death can occur in a matter of minutes — unless a bystander decides to step in and starts cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If you witness a person suddenly collapse and not breathing, they are likely suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest and requires immediate CPR and defibrillation to survive. Act fast and execute well. Performing immediate CPR is the key to survival.
