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The air we breathe in travels to our lungs where oxygen is picked up by our blood and then pumped
by the heart to our tissue and organs. When a person experiences cardiac arrest - whether due to
heart failure in adults and the elderly or an injury such as near drowning, electrocution or severe
trauma in a child - the heart goes from a normal beat to an arrhythmic pattern called ventricular
fibrillation, and eventually ceases to beat altogether.
This prevents oxygen from circulating
throughout the body, rapidly killing cells and tissue. In essence, Cardio (heart)
Pulmonary (lung) Resuscitation (revive, revitalize) serves as an
artificial heartbeat and an artificial respirator.
CPR may not save the victim even when performed properly, but if started within 4 minutes of cardiac
arrest and defibrillation is provided within 10 minutes, a person has a 40% chance of survival.
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The circulatory system
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Invented in 1960, CPR is a simple but effective procedure that allows almost anyone to sustain life in the
first critical minutes of cardiac arrest. CPR provides oxygenated blood to the brain and the heart long enough
to keep vital organs alive until emergency equipment arrives.
To make learning CPR easier, a system was devised that makes remembering it as simple
as A-B-C:- Airway
- Breathing
- Circulation
Let's begin by emphasizing the very first step
of Basic Life Support
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