What Is CPR And How To Perform It Correctly

A video of an IAS officer performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on a person went viral on Twitter on Thursday where he was praised for "saving a life". The video showed the officer, Yash Pal Garg, giving first aid to the person seated on a chair.

While the video was shared widely on social media, many people pointed out that the way Garg performed CPR was not correct. Some of the critics of the video said that it was doing more harm than good.

According to the National Health Portal of India, CPR is an emergency lifesaving procedure and is a combination of chest compressions to maintain blood circulation and rescue breathing to provide oxygen to the patient's lungs. Once the patient starts breathing on their own, CPR can be stopped.

BOOM reached out to a doctor, to find out how to perform this life-saving aid correctly.

What is a CPR?

"CPR is given to a person if they get unconscious suddenly and there is absent pulse and breathing. The absence of a pulse means that the heart has stopped working, and to pump blood we need someone to substitute the function of the heart temporarily. This is achieved by chest compressions during CPR. The compressions squeeze the blood out of the heart and keep it flowing," said Shahnawaz Kaloo, a consultant in Interventional Radiology based in New Delhi.

CPR helps save lives in cases of cardiac arrest ."There is plenty of possibility that the heart will start working again, either on its own or by medical intervention. But the time duration between the cardiac arrest and its restarting can be long," Kaloo said. To reduce the chances of brain damage or brain death, CPR combined with other medical interventions acts as a life-saving technique and helps restart the heart.

"Remember, CPR is to save the brain till the time help arrives or the heart starts beating again. As soon as the victim's heart starts beating again the pulse will reappear and the CPR is stopped," Kaloo said.

How is a CPR given?

Because CPR is such an essential technique to save lives, several medical organisations and groups have explained the procedure online. According to the step-by-step guide to CPR by the American Red Cross, "If the person appears unresponsive, CHECK for responsiveness, breathing, life-threatening bleeding or other life-threatening conditions using shout-tap-shout." If the person remains unresponsive despite CPR, the American Red Cross suggests calling emergency services.

To perform CPR, the patient needs to be placed on a firm and flat surface and then given 30 chest compressions.

"With hands centered on the chest, shoulders directly over hands, and elbows locked, press the chest to at least 2 inches. Allow chest to return to normal position after each compression," it further explains.

When not to give a CPR?

Kaloo was among the doctors who tweeted about the viral video of the IAS officer saying, "If the patient tells you, “ok, ok, stop. I am fine now” after CPR…. Maybe he didn’t need it in the first place. Leave alone the fact that CPR is not done like this (sic)."

Speaking to BOOM, he explained that CPR is given to unconscious patients and not conscious ones. "CPR is done on a flat surface to make chest compressions squeeze the heart, not on a chair." The person in the video is seen reclined on a chair as the officer tries to resuscitate him.

"CPR is done by the force of the body using arms to transfer the effort, not by flexing arms," he further added.

Here is a video by the American Heart Association on the correct procedure for giving a CPR: