CPR Week: Here's how you can save a life

According to Arrive Alive South Africa, CPR is an emergency procedure consisting of external cardiac massage and artificial respiration  - the first treatment needed for a person who has collapsed, has no pulse and has stopped breathing. This attempts to restore circulation of the blood and prevent death or brain damage due to lack of oxygen. 

KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services Robert McKenzie says members of the public need to learn the procedure.  

According to Arrive Alive, these are the steps to follow if you want to learn CPR. 

The best way to learn CPR is to attend a CPR class presented by an accredited medical institution or emergency response provider. CPR is a skill both to be learnt, practised and regularly updated.

Step 1: Check

First, you should check the scene for safety and then check the victim.

When you check the scene you want to make sure that it's safe for both you and the victim. Do not put your own life in danger and become a victim yourself!

What do you need to check for?

When you are assessing the scene, also make a note of the following:

Possible safety risks

Check for the number of victims. How many victims do you have? Check for clues as to what could have happened or for bystanders to provide more information or render assistance in stopping traffic.

Now you can check the victim. Find out if they are unconscious. The best way to find out if the victim is conscious is to talk to them. Tap them on their shoulder and shout and see if they respond to you.

Step 2: Call

If they are unconscious or under any other life-threatening conditions, you should automatically call one of the emergency response numbers. 

Step 3: Care

It is most important to remember the ABC of Care. 

A is for airway.

B is for breathing.

C is for circulation.

Step 4: A for Airway

To open the airway, tilt the head back, lift the chin and look, listen, and feel for up to ten seconds. This way you can tell if a person is breathing.

Step 5: B for Breathing

If there is no breathing - go to the "B" step - which involves administering two rescue breaths into the person's mouth. Tilt the head back, pinch the nose, lift the chin and give two breaths ensuring that a tight seal is made around their mouth with yours. Those breaths are about one second long.

If the breaths go in, look towards the victim’s chest while administering the rescue breaths, you will notice the chest rise, that tells you that there is no blockage. Look at the victim's body and see if there's any bleeding, and if so you need to put pressure on the site so as to stop the bleed. If there is a second rescuer or bystander, get them to hold a sturdy amount of pressure on the wound. Then, begin CPR.

If the breaths did not go in try again, you may not have maintained a good seal the first time. If the breaths still do not go in, the victim's airway is obstructed. Follow the steps for Unconscious Choking.

Step 6: Check Pulse

Pulse check is no longer done for adults. However, one should check the pulse of children and infants. For children, check the pulse on the side of the neck. For infants, check the pulse on the middle of the inside of the arm, between the elbow and the shoulder.

Step 7: C For Circulation

Check the pulse and breathing, and act accordingly. If there is a pulse and breathing, place the person on their side in the recovery position.

Step 8: Rescue Breathing

If there is a pulse but no breathing, breathe for the victim. They do not require compressions - only breaths. So do what is called "rescue breathing".

Give one breath every five seconds, and give 24 breaths in about two minutes. At the end of two minutes, stop to re-check the pulse and breathing again, and decide how to proceed.

Step 9: CPR

If the victim had no pulse / no breathing, perform CPR.

CPR is a combination of compressions and breaths and it serves to let oxygenated blood throughout the entire body. It keeps the brain and other vital organs alive until advanced emergency personnel can take over.

When we do CPR, we're going to do 30 compressions and two breaths and we're going to do them five times every two minutes.

For CPR for a child, you can use two hands. If you're dealing with a very small child, you probably want to do a one-handed technique. The one-handed technique involves putting one hand on the centre of the chest and the other on the forehead. Keep that airway open and put your shoulders directly over the victim's chest and keeping your arms straight. Compress down one to one and a half inches as you do your compressions. Count out loud while doing the compressions: one and two and three and four... ensuring that you compress the victim's chest at least 2/3 of the width of the chest.

Remember to keep your hands placed on the victim's chest on the breastbone at the level of the nipples.

Step 10: Stopping CPR

Once you begin CPR, do not stop to recheck. Continue without stopping, until you see signs of life, another trained person takes over, a defibrillator is ready to be used, the scene becomes unsafe, or you are too exhausted to continue.

Step 11: Recovery

If the victim shows signs of life, recheck their airway and breathing. If they are breathing, place them in the recovery position with the stomach to the ground and the head to the side, resting on their arm. 

Here are some of the things McKenzie recommends if you want to learn how to perform CPR.

For more information about the procedure, you can visit Arrive Alive website here.