Do NOT perform CPR on someone if their heart is beating normally. CPR is meant to kickstart the heart back into a regular rhythm, if someone has a normal heart beat, performing CPR on them can do them serious damage.
I’m not a medical professional but this is something that’s really emphasised in most CPR courses. If someone’s unconscious always always always check their pulse before performing CPR.
I’m gonna repeat that I’m not a medical professional but I’ve done a CPR course nearly every year for about six years now, so I’ll give you a few tips in case you need it and haven’t gotten a chance to learn.
Like op said, there’s some misconception about the depth you need to compress to so here’s a diagram:
you HAVE to push hard enough to compress the person’s heart through their chest. you WILL break ribs. (not your own obvs but still). my grandad was resuscitated from heart attacks and he had so many broken ribs it’s almost funny. seriously.
you want your elbows straight, hands one over the other and most of your body weight centered over your hands.
hands should be centered in the area circled. find your sternum on yourself. press the heel of your hand into the base of your sternum. that is where you need your hands to be when you do CPR.
you can still find the sternum on a person with breasts. let me repeat that: you can still find the sternum on a person with breasts.
people with breasts tend to go without CPR because people are afraid of touching their breasts or something. if someone with breasts needs CPR chances are they’ll forgive you for potentially saving their life. if you can, practice finding the sternum on someone who does have breasts. (do this respectfully ofc, don’t be creepy) ask your mum, sister, close friend or partner, just so that you can confidently find the sternum.
ofc this obviously doesn’t replace a proper CPR course and I’m not a medical professional, so if you have the choice: always get someone who is trained to do the CPR, and if you’re not confident call an ambulance.
the best thing you can do if you aren’t trained or confident is call for help.
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