BLS CPR certification trains laypeople to provide vital assistance to heart attack, stroke, or asphyxiation victims before medical personnel arrive. Studies show increased survival rates for victims who receive CPR within five minutes of collapse. The AHA recommends a universal ratio of 30 compressions every two breaths and regularly sponsors BLS CPR certification and training sessions to educate laypeople on proper life support techniques.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of Basic Life Support (CPR) is a process whereby laypersons witnessing or first discovering the victim of a heart attack, stroke or asphyxiation can provide vital assistance to the patient prior to the arrival of medical personnel . The BLS CPR certification is training for a procedure in which the rescuer administers chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to maintain oxygenation and circulation of the collapsing patient’s bloodstream. Studies supporting BLS CPR certification show increased survival rates for heart attack victims who receive CPR within five minutes of the onset of collapse. CPR, however, only occurs in about one-third of the nearly 250,000 annual out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests in the United States. The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued guidelines for BLS CPR certification training, which recommends a universal ratio of 30 compressions every two breaths for rescuers performing CPR on infants, children, or adults.
The sequence of events that rescuers learn in the BLS CPR certification begins with recognizing a patient’s unresponsive state. For an unresponsive adult, a first responder must first request that another bystander call emergency services or if he is the only one present. Also, if an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is available, he must recover and prepare to use it. In the next step, the rescuer opens the mouth, checks for a clear airway, and assesses whether the patient is still breathing. If there is no breathing, the rescuer administers two breaths, followed by 30 chest compressions, then uses the AED to shock the heart back to a normal rhythm.
For children or babies, the life support sequence is changed. As per current recommendations in BLS CPR certification courses, assessment of the airway and breathing is first, followed by five cycles of breaths and chest compressions before alerting emergency services. In most cases, loss of consciousness in the pediatric population is the result of the child stopping breathing rather than a heart attack. BLS CPR may be all that is needed to revive the patient before calling an ambulance.
Even when BLS CPR does occur, AHA studies reveal that the process is often not performed properly. Chest compressions are often very hesitant and slow. Rescuers interrupt compressions too much, leading to a drop in blood pressure and poor blood perfusion to the brain and vital organs. Too much ventilation can be provided, producing excess inflation in the stomach and lungs, which puts pressure on and reduces output from the heart. For these reasons, the AHA regularly sponsors BLS CPR certification and training sessions to educate laypersons on proper life support techniques.
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