The American Heart Association is recommending updated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines to encourage bystanders to begin chest compressions, while skipping or delaying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
According to reports, “hands-only” CPR is better than doing nothing, and is as effective in the precious minutes after cardiac arrest as standard CPR. In addition, according to the guidelines, hands-only CPR is easier to perform by those without training and dispatchers can more easily guide those who are untrained to handle this life-saving procedure.
Researchers who recommended the updated guidelines say that most adults have normal levels of oxygen in their blood immediately after collapsing from a heart attack. As such, keeping that blood circulating is important to protect organs for several minutes even if no oxygen is blown into their lungs.
In helping a heart attack victim, bystanders should first call 911.
The guidelines also recommend emergency responders to start CPR with compressions and then follow mouth-to-mouth guidelines that they’ve been trained to perform. This differs from the past approach that emergency responders should begin by checking the victim’s airway and then give a breath before starting compressions.