When CPR is Needed, the AMA Recommends How to Respond

By Zack Zarrilli Updated on August 16, 2011
in CPR

Even if an individual is not completely certified in CPR, the American Heart Association generally recommends that bystanders nonetheless perform certain actions to help a victim.

For example, if the bystander is completely untrained, they can nonetheless apply hands-only CPR – repeated and uninterrupted chest compressions of approximately 100 per minute until emergency personnel arrive. For these untrained bystanders, rescue breathing is not necessary.

For individuals who are trained but have not employed full-scale CPR and rescue breathing, simply follow the recommended course of action above – chest compressions will suffice until paramedics arrive.

And if, of course, the bystander is fully trained in CPR, they should start CPR along with 30 chest compressions, prior to checking the airway or administering rescue breaths.

Please note that the aforementioned advice, as stipulated by the American Heart Association, applies to adults and not infants.

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About the author

I spent 15 years as a firefighter and paramedic...

And too often I would arrive on the scene of someone unconscious, surrounded by a circle of people feeling helpless. Sometimes those people would even have CPR training but lacked the confidence and experience to act.

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