First Aid Procedure for Cardiac Arrest

If someone has a cardiac arrest (also known as a heart attack), you only have a few minutes to decisively act before it's too late. It is important to know what to do before it happens.

How do you know when a person is having a heart attack?

If He or She Is Unconscious

Are they breathing normally? Watch their chest to see if it is rising and falling.
Do they have a steady pulse? Check by placing two fingers on the carotid artery, located by either side of the larynx near the throat, to check if they have a pulse.

If the Person Has a Pulse but Isn't Breathing

Could they be suffocating? Feel inside the person's mouth with a finger to check for anything blocking the windpipe. Remove any food or foreign objects obstructing breathing. If the person has dentures, provided that the dentures are unbroken, it is recommended to leave them in.
Call 911 immediately, and let the dispatcher know that the person isn't breathing.
Provide resuscitation assistance, via the artificial respiration guide outlined below, until the person begins to breathe again or until the ambulance or other paramedics arrive.

If the person is not breathing or has no pulse, then the person has had a cardiac arrest (heart attack).

How Can You Help?

If possible, elevate the legs 12 to 18 inches. This allows more blood to flow to the heart.
Place your hand, palm down, against the person's chest, just above the lower part of their sternum (also known as the breast bone) and press your hand down in a pumping motion one or two times with the other hand.

If These Actions Don't Restore the Pulse or If the Person Doesn't Start Breathing Again

Call for help.
Let others know the person is having a heart attack, but stay with them.
Determine if anyone else on the scene knows CPR.
Provide artificial respiration right away.
Begin CPR.

How to Start Artificial Respiration

Tilt back the head and lift the chin up.
Pinch the person's nostrils shut using two fingers (this prevents air from leaking out).
Take a deep breath, and then seal your mouth over the person's mouth.
Breathe slowly and steadily into the person's mouth. Two seconds of this should adequately inflate the chest.
Repeat this two times.
Check to see if the person's chest rises.
If the chest does rise, then enough air has been blown in.
If you encounter resistance, try holding the head back a little further while lifting up the chin once more.
Repeat this procedure until help arrives or the person starts breathing again.

How to Perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (Also Known As CPR)

Look at the person's chest. Find an upside-down V shaped notch formed by the lower edge of the person's ribcage. Place your middle finger in the notch with your index finger next to it, resting upon the breast bone. Take your other hand, heel against the breast bone, sliding it down the breast bone until it is touches your index finger. Your hand's heel should now be just over the middle of the lower part of the breastbone.
Now put the heel of this hand atop your first hand. Lock your fingers together, keeping them off of the chest. Any pressure you apply from here on out should be given via the heels of your hands only.
Keep your elbows straight, bringing the weight of your body to bear on your hands.
Now press down quickly and firmly in a downwards movement of about 2 to 3 inches.
Relax your arms and then repeat the compression procedure.
Do this sequence 15 times, then attempt artificial respiration two more times.
Continue this pattern of 15 compression sequences, followed by 2 artificial respiration cycles until medical assistance arrives.
You want a chest compression rate of approximately 100 compressions per minute. You can help track your timing by counting out loud.

During a possible heart attack, it is important that artificial respiration and CPR be performed simultaneously if at all possible.

Important Things to Remember

If at all possible, get another person to help you. Ideally, there will be one person performing artificial respiration and another performing CPR. This isn't done easily without sufficient practice before hand. It is recommended that you attend training sessions on CPR in order to become more familiar with this technique.
Remember, the ratio of chest compressions to artificial respiration cycles is 15 compressions and 2 respiration cycles, whether it's on or two people performing CPR.
Keep doing this until the medical assistance arrives, or the person starts breathing again or regains a pulse.
If the person's pulse returns and they start to breathe again, but the person is still unconscious, make sure to roll them onto their side. This position will permit mucus, vomit or other obstructions to clear the person's mouth and prevent the obstruction of their breathing. This will also keep the person's tongue from rolling back and blocking their airway.