If someone is unresponsive, you need to call 999 or 112 for emergency help and start CPR straight away.
CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It combines chest compressions and rescue breaths to give a person the best chance of survival following a cardiac arrest.
If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing normally, you need to call 999 or 112 for emergency help and start CPR straight away.
If you find someone collapsed, make sure it's safe to approach.
Check if they respond by gently shaking their shoulders and asking them loudly, 'are you ok?'.
If they don't respond, shout for help and ask a helper to call 999 or 112 for an ambulance, or put your phone on hands-free and call yourself.
If you are unsure about opening the airway and assessing breathing the ambulance service call handler will tell you what to do.
Open their airway by gently tilting the casualty's head back and lifting their chin.
Look, listen, and feel for up to 10 seconds for normal breathing. Ignore occasional, irregular gasps - these are common in the early stages of cardiac arrest.
If they are not breathing normally, start CPR and ask a helper to find and bring a defibrillator, if available.
If you are on your own do not leave the casualty to look for a defibrillator yourself.
The ambulance controller can tell your helper where the nearest defibrillator is.
Start chest compressions. Ideally, this should be on a firm surface. For example, if they are on a bed, and if it is safe for you to do so, move them to the floor.
Kneel close to the casualty and put the heel of your hand on the middle of their chest. Put your other hand on top of your first hand and if you can, interlock your fingers.
Lean forwards so your shoulders are over your hands, keep your arms straight and press down hard, to a depth of about five-six centimetres before releasing the pressure and allowing the chest to come back up.
Push at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute.
Listen to instructions from the ambulance controller. They will tell you what to do and help you to push at the right speed.
If you are trained to do so, after 30 compressions, provide two rescue breaths. If you are unable or unwilling to provide rescue breaths, give continuous chest compressions.
Tilt the casualty's head backwards, lift their chin, and pinch the soft part of their nose closed.
Take a breath and put your mouth around the person's mouth to make a seal.
Blow into their mouth steadily and firmly for up to one second, until the chest rises.
Remove your mouth and watch the chest fall.
This is a rescue breath, do this twice.
It is important not to interrupt chest compressions for too long so each time you attempt rescue breaths, stick to two attempts to get the breaths in. If one or both don't work, return to chest compressions.
Keep alternating 30 compressions with two breaths (30:2) until:
emergency help arrives and takes over
the person starts showing signs of life and starts to breathe normally
you are too exhausted to continue. If there is a helper, you should swap every one to two minutes, but try to minimise interruptions to chest compressions
a defibrillator is connected to the casualty and tells you to stop CPR while it analyses the heart rhythm
