by Megan Worley

Created on: May 07, 2009

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, does not necessarily restart a person's heart but it can save their person's life. CPR helps to facilitate the flow of blood, and therefore oxygen, to the brain, heart, and other organs, forestalling the death of tissue. Performing CPR can help to extend the chance of successfully restarting the heart later without any permanent brain damage. There are many reasons that a person's heart can stop, including accidents, electric shocks and illnesses. All of these reasons could happen anywhere and anytime and being prepared for that is essential.

What Happens during a Heart Attack

When we breathe air into our lungs oxygen is then picked up by the blood cells. That freshly oxygenated blood is then pumped throughout the body to all our tissues and organs. When a person's suffers from a heart attack, their heart will stop beating and therefore cease to function properly. Without a functioning heart oxygen cannot get to the tissue that needs it. The organs that suffer the most from oxygen deprivation are the heart and brain. Within 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen cells, most notably brain cells, begin to die off at a rapid pace. Every minute past 6 minutes means more damage and more cell death. The majority of people cannot survive for long in a state where no oxygen is being provided to the organs.

How CPR is performed

CPR should only be done by someone who has had training to do so. That person will place their hands on the victim's chest to pump the heart. How hard they push depends on the age of the victim and is much lighter for children. The person should then force air into the lungs by tilting the head back, blocking the nostrils and breathing mouth to mouth. Doing this allows oxygen to enter the blood stream and mimics the natural contractions of the heart, allowing blood to be pumped throughout the body.

What CPR does

What CPR does is to serve as an artificial heartbeat and an artificial respirator. CPR keeps blood flowing throughout the body and air flowing in and out of the lungs. CPR can only temporarily restore circulation in between 10 to 30 percent of cases. The only way to restore the heart to a normal beating rhythm is to shock the heart with an electrical volt. However CPR can serve to keep the patient alive until that shock can be delivered. When CPR has been started within 4 minutes of the heart stopping, and if defibrillation occurs within 10 minutes, a person's chance of surviving increases 40%.

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