How to Do the Proper Rate of CPR Chest Compressions
CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is an emergency procedure which paramedics rely upon to keep the heart of a person in cardiac arrest beating. It is imperative that the proper rate of CPR chest compressions be maintained. You will need to do lots of practice before you do CPR chest compressions at a constant rate. Moreover, realising the fact that a cardiac arrest victim faces a life or death situation is also very important. Here is how you can do the proper rate of CPR chest compressions in a critical situation.
Instructions
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1
The ideal rate for doing chest compressions is somewhere around 100 compressions per minute. This would mean that the number of compressions done every second would be a little less than 2, 1.67 to be exact. At this rate, the time required to complete 30 compressions would be somewhere around 18 to 19 seconds. Make sure that you set the compression rate in such a way that the chest of the victim has enough time to fully recoil between consecutive compressions.
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2
Just to be on the safe side, you can practice compressions on a dummy specifically designed for practicing CPR chest compressions. A doll or a stuffed animal can also be used to practice the compression rate. At the start, try to do chest compressions at a rate of 8 compressions every 5 seconds. Make sure that you use a stopwatch to time yourself so that you can make necessary changes to your technique if you are not doing the compressions at the desired rate.
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3
If the person undergoing CPR chest compressions is an adult, make sure that keep the compression between 1 and 2 inches. In case the victim is an infant, the compressions should be kept between 1/2 to a 1/3 the depth of the chest. Just keep in mind that the idea of CPR chest compressions is to trap the heart of the victim between the sternum and the spine.
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4
To get the count of compressions right, consider counting out loud as you do the compressions. Try not to use words such as ‘and’ in between counts. Keep your mind focused on the task at hand because doing compressions correctly may turn out to be the only difference between life and death of the victim.
