The study suggests that patients overestimate the effectiveness of CPR due to their excessive television viewing. They believe that post-CPR survival rates are 19-75 percent, while accurate estimates have shown that these rates don’t exceed even 40%! However – if it’s appropriately administered – providing basic life support to patients can increase their chances of survival. Statistics show that 90% of people having a heart attack outside the hospital meet their deaths. Fortunately, CPR may save a person’s life by doubling/tripling their chances of survival if they receive BLS after they suffer from cardiac arrest. That’s why we’ll explain crucial steps involved in BLS for adults here for your information.
Performing Basic Life Support step-by-step:
It’s been estimated that most Americans and Canadians die from sudden cardiac arrest. We can prevent these deaths by encouraging bystanders to perform CPR. So learning BLS – a life-saving skill – can help you prevent deaths by assisting those suffering from a life-threatening condition until they obtain more advanced treatment. That’s why we expect all health workers to become proficient in providing basic life support and learning its various stages while treating adults. Besides death, BLS also saves individuals from sustaining permanent damage to their heart/brain.
Unfortunately, just around 54% of Americans can give CPR, and even fewer people know how to perform it on adults properly. Moreover, research studies have regrettably revealed that most health workers don’t attain continued education regarding basic life support. This life-saving skill may decline after a few months of non-training. So, how do you get yourself certified in this talent? Many health workers are often searching on Google “BLS certification near me” to resume their training. Now, you can complete your education in a matter of hours and learn how CPR for adults can differ from that for children. We shall now discuss the vital steps a person must remember while giving basic life support. These steps include the following:
1. Check for a response:
Every step-by-step guide regarding administering basic life support begins with this advice, i.e., check the victim for any response. We suggest you ascertain everyone’s safety – especially the patient – before shaking the victim and/shouting at them, “Are you alright?” Remember that we ask you to shake the person gently while shouting stridently to make sure they’re listening. If you receive no response, then you must carry on with the steps explained below. Now, we’re ready for some BLS.
2. Open the airway:
If they do respond, then they may still require immediate medical attention. However, unresponsive individuals can pass away if bystanders or just-arriving health workers fail to deliver CPR properly. A person administering BLS should attempt to unblock the victim’s airway by positioning them on their back. Put your hand on the forehead while touching the patient’s chin with your fingertips. Now, try to tilt the person’s head, thereby lifting the chin to open the airway. Then check for breathing.
3. Check their breathing:
In this step, we make sure if the victim’s breathing normally or abnormally. You can check by feeling, looking, and listening for breathing in under 10 seconds. Slow/noisy gasps may indicate a patient’s inability to breathe functionally. If the victim’s breathing normally, you can move on to the fifth step that involves checking circulation. Otherwise, you should call emergency services for help so they may guide you about administering CPR remotely. We propose activating the hands-free option.
4. Sending for help:
How do you ask for help? You can dial 911 or ask bystanders to call for backup. Moreover – if you’re not alone with the victim – send the second rescuer for help. Make sure that bystanders bring back an AED to resuscitate the victim. We strongly advise you to stop panicking and assume the role of an authority figure. Leave the patient only if there’s nobody else to bring an AED around you. Now, you can commence administering CPR, which constitutes one of the most crucial components of BLS.
5. Check circulation:
First, you must check for a pulse before compressing the victim’s chest. For adults, you check for a pulse by feeling their carotid artery. In children, it’s the brachial/femoral artery that helps you check circulation. If there’s no pulse detected in under 10 seconds, the patient doesn’t have a pulse. You should administer one breath every 5-6 seconds, whereas recheck for a pulse every two minutes. If there’s a pulse, then attempt cycles of 30 compressions and two breaths unless:
- The victim regains consciousness.
- Someone brings the required AED.
- An ALS provider takes over the scene.
6. Administering CPR:
We’ll explain here now how to give CPR to help untrained individuals provide this medical service:
- Kneel by the victim
- Place one hand’s heel in the center of their chest
- Place the other hand’s heel on your first hand and interlock your fingers
- By keeping your arms straight, lean vertically above the patient and compress their sternum
- After pressing down once, release the pressure without moving your hands away from the patient’s chest
- Continue to compress constantly at the rate of 100-120 every minute (if you’re untrained)
7. Check rhythm:
When the AED eventually arrives, make sure that cardiac rhythm’s shockable. If the rhythm doesn’t seem shockable, continue administering CPR until a health worker arrives. When you decide to shock the victim, make sure that nobody’s touching them. After shocking the patient once, resume CPR for five cycles.
So, are defibrillators successful? Research shows that when an AED is used 3-5 minutes after a victim’s collapse, it may help 50-70 percent of patients survive. Moreover, a report discovered that 66% of victims shocked by bystanders with an AED survived hospital discharge. Learning these steps can help you save people’s lives while keeping them alive as well!
8. Final suggestions:
So, how do you remember all these steps? Some experts have created the D-R-S-A-B-C-D protocol to help people remember this procedure. It involves looking for dangers, checking for responsiveness, sending for help, attempting to open airways, ensuring that the victim’s breathing normally, starting CPR, and finally utilizing a defibrillator (AED) to save them. If there’s no AED available to you, you shouldn’t stop administering CPR unless a health worker arrives. If you’ve exhausted or the victim eventually begins to move, you can stop compressing. Although, it’s rare to restart the heart merely with CPR! Now, you’re prepared to provide basic life support to adults in need of immediate help.
Conclusion:
There are certain misconceptions associated with basic life support. People should remember that CPR constitutes just a portion of BLS and isn’t always successful at reviving patients. For instance, research indicates that roughly 1 in 6 patients receiving CPR in the hospital can survive. Moreover, don’t forget about some vital steps that compose the procedure called basic life support. In the picture we’ve posted above, you can see all these steps drawn in the form of a flowchart for better understanding.
You should confirm whether the patient’s responsive or not by shaking/shouting at them. Then attempt to open their airway by tilting their heads or lifting their chins. Make sure they’re breathing properly at this point by feeling their pulse or listening to them inhale. There are different procedures for patients who have a pulse but aren’t breathing. It would help if you learned to use AED on patients with abnormal breathing. That’s how you can successfully stop an adult from succumbing to cardiac arrest right in front of you.
