CPR – check, call, push
Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone. What matters then is that someone helps straight away – and the control centre will support you on the phone. Three words are enough: check, call, push.
1. Check
Speak loudly to the person and gently shake their shoulders. If they do not react, tilt the head back and look, listen and feel whether they are breathing normally. No breathing sounds, no movement of the chest: this is cardiac arrest.
2. Call
Shout for help and have others call the emergency number – 144 in Austria, 112 in Germany and anywhere in the EU. If you are alone, call yourself. The control centre will guide you.
If there is a defibrillator (AED) nearby, have someone fetch it. The device tells you what to do with spoken instructions.
3. Push
- Kneel next to the person and uncover the chest.
- Put the heel of one hand in the middle of the chest and the other hand on top.
- Arms straight, push straight down: 5 to 6 cm deep, 100 to 120 times a minute.
- Let the chest come back up fully after each push.
- Do not stop until the ambulance team takes over.
If you have learned it and feel able to, give 2 rescue breaths after every 30 compressions – head back, nose closed, blow into the mouth until the chest rises. If not: just keep pushing.
Children and babies
According to the German Red Cross:
- First give up to 5 rescue breaths, then 30 compressions and 2 breaths in turn.
- Babies: two fingertips on the lower third of the breastbone, about 4 cm deep.
- Toddlers: the heel of one hand, about 5 cm deep.
- Alone? First do CPR for about a minute, then call the emergency number.
Learn it, don't just read it
A text does not replace a course. The Red Cross and other aid organisations offer first-aid courses, often in just a few hours. The Red Cross recommends refreshing your knowledge every few years.