In the absence of third parties
- gently remove any visible and easily accessible foreign objects from the mouth;
- Immediately give five breaths using the mouth-to-mouth method; whilst giving the initial breaths, remain alert to any movement, any attempt to cough or any resumption of normal breathing that may occur.
- Perform CPR by repeating cycles of fifteen chest compressions followed by two rescue breaths for one minute; the transition from rescue breaths to compressions and from compressions to rescue breaths must be carried out as quickly as possible, otherwise the effectiveness of circulation will be reduced.
- Alert the emergency services, preferably using your mobile phone. Switch it to hands-free mode and start CPR immediately whilst waiting for the emergency services to arrive8;
- Perform CPR by repeating cycles of fifteen chest compressions followed by two breaths; if an AED is within immediate reach (within your field of vision), activate it as soon as possible and follow its voice prompts, minimising interruptions to chest compressions as much as possible;
- Continue CPR until the emergency services take over.
If the victim starts to wake up (moves, opens their eyes and is breathing normally):
- stop chest compressions and ventilation;
- carry out a life-threatening emergency assessment and ensure constant monitoring of the victim’s level of consciousness and breathing whilst keeping the victim on their back;
- be prepared to resume CPR due to the high risk of a recurrence of cardiac arrest.
If rescue breathing cannot be performed (due to the rescuer being pushed away, the patient vomiting, etc.) or if it appears to be ineffective, the rescuer must immediately resume chest compressions.
A third are present
- call the emergency services and ask for an AED;
- gently remove any visible and easily accessible foreign objects from the mouth;
- Immediately administer five breaths using the mouth-to-mouth method; whilst administering the initial breaths, remain alert to any movement, any attempt to cough or any resumption of normal breathing that may occur.
- Perform CPR by repeating cycles of fifteen chest compressions followed by two breaths; the transition from breaths to compressions and from compressions to breaths must be carried out as quickly as possible, otherwise the effectiveness of circulation will be reduced.
- ensure that the AED is deployed or operate it as soon as possible, whilst minimising any interruption to CPR, and follow its instructions;
- Continue CPR until the emergency services take over.
If the victim starts to wake up (moves, opens his eyes and breathes normally):
- to stop resuscitation efforts;
- carry out a life-threatening emergency assessment and ensure constant monitoring of the victim’s level of consciousness and breathing whilst keeping the victim on their back
- be prepared to resume CPR due to the high risk of a recurrence of cardiac arrest.
If rescue breathing cannot be performed (e.g. the rescuer is repelled, the victim is vomiting, etc.) or if it appears to be ineffective, the rescuer must immediately resume chest compressions.
If there are several rescuers present, take turns with the rescuer performing chest compressions every 2 minutes, minimising any interruption to the compressions. If an AED is being used, the handover should take place whilst the device is analysing.