!No Heartbeat

When to give chest compressions
-------------------------------
Check for a pulse (heartbeat) on the neck. Or listen by putting your ear on 
the left side of the chest.

If there is no heartbeat, try to restart it with chest compressions. It is 
important to start chest compressions quickly, so if you are not sure if you 
have found a heartbeat, or if the heartbeat is very faint, it is safest to do 
chest compressions.

    Give chest compressions
    -----------------------
    Push hard and fast on the center of the chest 30 times. Push straight 
    down, about 5 cm (2 in). Try for a fast rate, at least 100 times a minute, 
    but the exact rate is not important. Push hard and fast!

    Give rescue breaths
    -------------------
    After 30 chest compressions, give 2 rescue breaths that make the chest 
    rise.

    Continue with compressions and breaths
    --------------------------------------
    Keep alternating between 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths. You 
    may have to do this for a long time. Continue until the person is 
    breathing and alert, or until there is no doubt he is dead.

    Get help
    --------
    If you can get the person to a hospital quickly, do so. Keep giving chest 
    compressions and rescue breathing on the way. This will help to keep the 
    body functions going until you can get help.

This may bring life back to someone after electrocution, drowning, if he 
suffered a very hard blow to the chest, hypothermia (too cold), or drug 
overdose.Chest compressions are less likely to help someone after a heart 
attack, but are worth trying, especially if you can get more medical help. 
(See more about heart attacks.)

A medical device called a defibrillator gives an electric shock to re-start 
the heart after a heart attack. Find out before emergencies happen if there 
are defibrillators in your community and where they are kept. They are 
sometimes found in ambulances, or in public places like a police station or a 
large hotel. 

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Hesperian Health Guides 1919 Addison St Ste 304 Berkeley CA 94704
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