Emergency Cards EN-US

United States

CPR and resuscitation

Reviewed

Use at your own risk. For education and research only, not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in. They change. Before you rely on these cards, have a medical professional or a fire safety specialist review them. Disclaimer

Do this first

Not breathing normally? Call 911, then push hard and fast on the center of the chest, 100 to 120 times a minute.

A person whose heart has stopped does not respond and does not breathe normally. Occasional gasping does not count as breathing. Chest compressions started in the first minutes are what decides survival.

Step by step

  1. Check for danger to yourself first: traffic, electricity, fire, gas.
  2. Shout at the person and shake their shoulders. If there is no reaction, they are unresponsive.
  3. Tilt the head back, lift the chin, then look and listen for normal breathing for no more than ten seconds.
  4. Call 911, put the phone on speaker and send someone for the nearest defibrillator.
  5. Put the heel of one hand on the center of the chest and the other hand on top. Press five to six centimeters deep, 100 to 120 times a minute. Let the chest come fully back up between compressions.
  6. If you are trained and willing, give two rescue breaths after every thirty compressions. Otherwise do compressions only.
  7. Swap with someone else every two minutes if you can. Keep going until the crew takes over or the person wakes up.

Never do this

  • Do not stop to search for a pulse. Untrained pulse checks waste time and are unreliable.
  • Do not hold back for fear of breaking ribs. Ribs heal.
  • Do not leave the person to look for a defibrillator if you are the only one there.

Call emergency services if

  • The person does not respond and is not breathing normally.
  • The person is gasping, snoring or making irregular noises and cannot be woken.
  • Someone collapses suddenly and you cannot rouse them.

Common questions

What do I do with a defibrillator?

Switch it on and follow the voice prompts. It will not shock a heart that does not need it. Keep compressing while the pads go on, and stand clear only when the device tells you to.

Is it different for a child?

Give five rescue breaths first, then thirty compressions to two breaths, pressing about a third of the depth of the chest. If you are untrained, use adult CPR anyway. Any attempt is better than none.

Next cards

Sources and standards

Use at your own risk. For education and research only, not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in. They change. Before you rely on these cards, have a medical professional or a fire safety specialist review them.