Sunshine Coast First Aid - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

Lisa from our first aid sunshine coast office states that Cardio-Pulmonary-Resuscitation (CPR) can be life-saving and increases the person’s chances of survival if started soon after the heart has stopped beating. If no CPR is performed, it only takes three to four minutes for the person to become brain dead due to a lack of oxygen.

The quality of the compressions is vital in maximise the potential outcome. Quality is important and is vital in buying time before a defibrillator is applied. Compressions only CPR can often be used until further help arrives.

Chest compressions provide vital blood flow to the heart and brain during a cardiac arrest and research shows that delays or interruptions to compressions reduced survival rates. Ventilations are not as critical, as victims will have oxygen remaining in their lungs and bloodstream for the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest.

Compressions should be started as soon as possible, and interruptions in chest compressions should be minimized throughout the entire resuscitation process.

By performing CPR, you circulate the blood so it can provide oxygen to the body, and the brain and other organs stay alive while you wait for the ambulance. There is usually enough oxygen still in the blood to keep the brain and other organs alive for a number of minutes, but it is not circulating unless someone does CPR. CPR does not guarantee that the person will survive, but it does give that person a chance when otherwise there would have been none.

If you are not sure whether a person is in cardiac arrest or not, you should start CPR.