Almost anyone can perform hands-only CPR, which can provide essential blood flow to the organs if the heart suddenly stops. Learn more about this skill.
Hands-Only CPR: A Simple Skill That Could Save a Life
When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the heart stops beating without warning – and blood flow to vital organs, including the brain, stops. Sudden cardiac arrest is often fatal without quick help to get blood moving again. Hands-only CPR, which doesn't require mouth-to-mouth breathing, can deliver blood to the organs until medical help arrives.
What Is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
Your heart runs on an electrical system. Problems with this system can lead to an irregular heartbeat. Sudden cardiac arrest usually occurs due to a type of irregular heartbeat called ventricular fibrillation, which stops the heart from beating normally. When the heart can't do its job, the organs don't receive the oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood they need to function.
Sudden cardiac arrest doesn't provide warning signs. When it occurs, the patient usually faints and collapses and may survive only a few minutes without hands-only CPR or another form of help. Ninety percent of sudden cardiac arrests that occur outside a hospital lead to death, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Sudden cardiac arrest contributes to many heart attack and stroke deaths.
Knowing your risk for sudden cardiac arrest can help guide your cardiac treatment. Risk factors include coronary artery disease, an irregular heartbeat, previous cardiac arrest and heart valve problems.
The Importance of Hands-Only CPR
You don't need CPR training to perform hands-only CPR on someone with sudden cardiac arrest. Also known as compression-only CPR, hands-only CPR involves chest compressions – or pushing with the hands in the center of the chest.
Continuous chest compressions are the most important part of hands-only CPR: They take over the heart's job by sending blood to the organs.
When sudden cardiac arrest occurs outside of the hospital, hands-only CPR works just as well as CPR with mouth-to-mouth breathing during the first few minutes, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Hands-only CPR is most effective for teenagers and adults you see collapse because they likely still have a few minutes' worth of oxygen in their bodies, the AHA reports. CPR with breaths may work better for infants, children, teenagers and adults who fainted before you found them.
How to Perform Hands-Only CPR
If you see a teenager or adult suddenly collapse, and they show no signs of breathing, call 911. Next, follow these steps:
- Move the person onto their back on a firm, flat surface.
- Kneel next to them with your knees apart.
- Place one of your hands on top of the other in the center of their chest.
- While leaning over the person's chest and with your arms straight, push hard and fast at a pace of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Need help keeping the beat? The AHA recommends matching your pace to a well-known song, such as "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees or "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z.
Keep going until medical services who can handle a cardiac emergency arrive or an automated external defibrillator (AED) becomes available. These devices, which deliver an electric shock that makes the heart beat correctly, are available in many public places. You don't need training to use an AED.