Overview

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency treatment that's done when someone's breathing or heartbeat has stopped. For example, when someone has sudden cardiac arrest or nearly drowns. CPR can help save a life.

The American Heart Association recommends starting CPR by pushing hard and fast on the chest. The pushes are called compressions.

Here's general CPR advice from the American Heart Association. Specific details on how to do CPR can be found under the treatment section in this article.

• Not trained. If you're not trained in CPR or don't want to put your mouth on the person's mouth or nose, then do hands-only CPR. This means push hard and fast in the center of the chest 100 to 120 times a minute. Do this until medical help gets to you. You don't need to place your mouth on the person's mouth or nose and give rescue breaths.
• Trained but out of practice. If you are trained in CPR but are not sure of your skills, do hands-only CPR. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest 100 to 120 times a minute.
• Trained and ready to go. If you're well trained and confident in your CPR ability, check to see if there is a pulse and breathing. If there is no pulse or breathing within 10 seconds, start compressions. Push hard and fast on the center of the chest 30 times. Then give two rescue breaths. Keep doing this pattern of 30 chest compressions to two rescue breaths until medical help arrives.

The above information applies to situations in which adults, children and infants need CPR. The information does not apply to newborns. Newborns are babies up to 4 weeks old.

CPR can keep oxygen-rich blood flowing to the brain and other organs until medical help can get the heart beating again. When the heart stops, the body stops getting the oxygen it needs. This can cause brain damage in only a few minutes.