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What is it REALLY like to do CPR on someone? This is a common question that many people have. For many people, especially those who don’t work in an emergent healthcare position, they may not ever have a situation in their life to perform CPR. This is of course great, but it is always good to prepared as you never know when or where an emergency will strike, and the most common time people need to perform CPR is on a loved one in their home.
I have performed CPR on a variety of patients. I have performed CPR on infants, children and adults of all sizes and races. Now if you talk to someone else who has done CPR, their experiences and recollection may be different, but I wanted to outline some general things that people often wonder about or would be good to know.
First, there are a lot of emotions. This makes it absolutely imperative to stay calm. Even as a trained responder these are situations that can trigger normal emotions based on the circumstances and what you are seeing. Anger, sadness, uncertainty, fear and anxiety are all things you may be feeling, perhaps all essentially at the same time, making it difficult to focus at the task at hand, helping the patient. Not only are you having these emotions and handling them in your own way, any other family member, responder, ‘spectator’, or person nearby will also be feeling a mix of emotions. Some people may be yelling, screaming or crying which heightens some of the feelings you may have, but again that is why you must stay calm. If you aren’t prepared to handle these feelings or be able to deal with them after the emergency, you may not be able to give the best care with a calm head to the patient.
Next, everything is hard. Things happen that you may have never expected. All you can do is the best that you can with what you have. More often than not, the person needing CPR won’t be on a padded floor in a wide-open space like you may practice in a CPR class. They could be found wedged between objects, in a bathtub or in spots difficult to access. Not only is it difficult accessing or moving (if needed) someone but the actual act of CPR itself is exhausting. Pushing down on someone’s hard chest, over 2 inches deep takes a ton of effort, no matter how big or strong you are. You will most likely crack the person’s ribs going this deep, but that is expected and necessary to properly perform CPR and pump the blood for the person until further help arrives. You likely will hear and feel the ribs cracking but know that this is not unusual and continue to provide care as trained. You may be performing these exhausting skills for a long time before being able to be relieved from someone else. If there are others able to help be sure to let them and rotate out at least every 2 minutes so that you can continue providing care.
Finally, you’ll always have questions and doubts. When everything is over it is completely normal to feel like you ‘could have done better’. Hindsight is always 20/20, you did what you could do in the situation based on the training you’ve had and that’s all you can do. Some people survive after CPR, some do not and that does not make it your fault. Performing early CPR is all about giving someone a better chance of surviving, but it is not a guarantee.
My best advice is to take a CPR/AED class to be trained and prepared. Think about what you would do in real life and continue to renew your certification every 2 years or sooner. Be prepared that things will be emotional, unpredictable and hard. They may not seem like things went ‘perfect’ but by taking a class, staying calm and doing the best you can will put you in the best position to help save someone’s life.
www.TwinCitiesCPR.com
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Tim Smith is an EMT and a former full-time Twin Cities Fire Captain who founded HeartCert in 2010 with his wife Christina, a Registered Nurse and former Paramedic. Tim and Christina have a true love for helping others and are passionate about education and enhancing the community, so starting a CPR training company was a perfect fit for them. Tim started out doing 1 on 1 CPR and First Aid certification classes in his living room before expanding into multiple locations throughout the state of Minnesota and adding 20+ very skilled, highly trained, healthcare professionals who share in his love for bettering their community and fun teaching style. HeartCert continues to grow as a local, family owned business. Tim’s mission is to support that of the American Heart Association and American Red Cross which strives to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. To better achieve this mission HeartCert has expanded outside of the Twin Cities Minnesota Metro area and now offers courses in multiple regions and states.
More articles by the writer
What is it REALLY like to do CPR on someone? This is a common question that many people have. For many people, especially those who don’t work in an emergent healthcare position, they may not ever have a situation in their life to perform CPR. This is of course great, but it is always good to prepared as you never know when or where an emergency will strike, and the most common time people need to perform CPR is on a loved one in their home.
I have performed CPR on a variety of patients. I have performed CPR on infants, children and adults of all sizes and races. Now if you talk to someone else who has done CPR, their experiences and recollection may be different, but I wanted to outline some general things that people often wonder about or would be good to know.
First, there are a lot of emotions. This makes it absolutely imperative to stay calm. Even as a trained responder these are situations that can trigger normal emotions based on the circumstances and what you are seeing. Anger, sadness, uncertainty, fear and anxiety are all things you may be feeling, perhaps all essentially at the same time, making it difficult to focus at the task at hand, helping the patient. Not only are you having these emotions and handling them in your own way, any other family member, responder, ‘spectator’, or person nearby will also be feeling a mix of emotions. Some people may be yelling, screaming or crying which heightens some of the feelings you may have, but again that is why you must stay calm. If you aren’t prepared to handle these feelings or be able to deal with them after the emergency, you may not be able to give the best care with a calm head to the patient.
Next, everything is hard. Things happen that you may have never expected. All you can do is the best that you can with what you have. More often than not, the person needing CPR won’t be on a padded floor in a wide-open space like you may practice in a CPR class. They could be found wedged between objects, in a bathtub or in spots difficult to access. Not only is it difficult accessing or moving (if needed) someone but the actual act of CPR itself is exhausting. Pushing down on someone’s hard chest, over 2 inches deep takes a ton of effort, no matter how big or strong you are. You will most likely crack the person’s ribs going this deep, but that is expected and necessary to properly perform CPR and pump the blood for the person until further help arrives. You likely will hear and feel the ribs cracking but know that this is not unusual and continue to provide care as trained. You may be performing these exhausting skills for a long time before being able to be relieved from someone else. If there are others able to help be sure to let them and rotate out at least every 2 minutes so that you can continue providing care.
Finally, you’ll always have questions and doubts. When everything is over it is completely normal to feel like you ‘could have done better’. Hindsight is always 20/20, you did what you could do in the situation based on the training you’ve had and that’s all you can do. Some people survive after CPR, some do not and that does not make it your fault. Performing early CPR is all about giving someone a better chance of surviving, but it is not a guarantee.
My best advice is to take a CPR/AED class to be trained and prepared. Think about what you would do in real life and continue to renew your certification every 2 years or sooner. Be prepared that things will be emotional, unpredictable and hard. They may not seem like things went ‘perfect’ but by taking a class, staying calm and doing the best you can will put you in the best position to help save someone’s life.
www.TwinCitiesCPR.com
Vlad Magdalin
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