Begin CPR immediately once you have discovered the person is unresponsive and called for help.
Kneel next to the person being resuscitated so that your shoulders can lean directly over the person’s chest.
Place the palm of your dominant hand in the middle of their breastbone and place your other hand on top with the fingers intertwined. Keep your arms straight and your fingers bent back from the ribcage of the person being resuscitated so you can apply maximum force directly to the breastbone.
Apply 100 to 120 compressions per minute. See that the chest of the person being resuscitated is compressed at least 5 to 6 centimetres.
The CPR must be administered in a piston-like motion as continuously and evenly as possible. Let the chest of the person being resuscitated bounce back all the way between compressions, but do not remove your hands from their chest.
Applying CPR is a strenuous effort. If there are multiple helpers on the site, you should switch the person applying CPR during a short break from compressions, for example every two minutes. Try not to take unnecessary breaks!
How to apply compressions?
- In the middle of the breastbone
- Arms straight
- Piston-like motion 100 to 120 times a minute
- Press down for 5 to 6 centimetres
How to apply rescue breaths?
Only apply rescue breaths if you feel able to. Rescue breaths are particularly important if the person being resuscitated is a child, or they are unresponsive due to a lack of oxygen, such as caused by drowning or choking.
After every 30 compressions, take two calm, short, about second-long mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths, blowing into the helpee’s lungs. Make sure the air reaches the lungs by observing if their chest rises during the breath. After breathing, keep up the compressions. The correct ratio of compression to ventilation is 30 compressions and 2 rescue breaths.
When applying CPR alone, compressions alone are enough.