CPR is an excellent life saving tool that has saved many lives and has existed in many forms for hundreds of years. However, our current method of CPR was not taught to the public until the 1970s. Before that, it was determined that artificial respiration and chest compressions could save a person's life, but the method before our current one consisted of laying a person on their stomach. Fortunately, our current method is the adopted method because of its high success rate.

However, there are plenty of misconceptions when it comes to CPR because of what we see in movies and on television series set in hospital environments. The reason why CPR is portrayed the way it is on television is for dramatic effect, but what that does is give people the wrong impression about how it is really done. Could you imagine sitting there and waiting for the person performing CPR to breathe into the victim's mouth twice and then do 30 chest compressions? That would be rather boring, wouldn't it? We usually see them breathe twice and do anywhere between 5 and 15 chest compressions.

How to perform CPR

CPR isn't the quick and glamorous lifesaving technique we see in Hollywood. There are steps to be taken. Those steps are:

• You must try to wake the victim. You can rub your knuckles against their chest in a brisk manner. Any moaning or moving means CPR doesn't need to be done.

• If they're not breathing, tilt their head back so their chin is lifted, and put your ear to their mouth to ensure they are still not breathing. Use your cheek to make sure they're not breathing and look at their chest. Pinch their nose and then seal their mouth with yours. Use a CPR mask if you can. Give breath for one second, let their chest fall, then give breath another second and let their chest fall.

• Do chest compressions in the middle of the chest with the heel of one hand and the other hand on top with fingers interlaced. Compressions should be about 1 ½ to 2 inches in depth and do 30 compressions. Each compression should take less than a second, but ensure the chest rises before the next compression.

• Repeat this process until help arrives unless the victim begins breathing again.

This may seem easy by reading it, but if you didn't know the steps, you now know what to do. However, it is good to gather some experience on performing CPR in case you do need to do it in a real life setting.



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