Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

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A man doing chest compressions.
A man doing chest compressions.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency first aid protocol for a person suffering a cardiac arrest. It can be performed by anybody, but people are often told not to try unless they have received proper first aid training. CPR does not start a person's heart again, but it can keep oxygenated blood flowing around the body long enough for proper emergency treatment to be administered, if it is done properly.

CPR is normally started on a person that is not breathing and is unconscious. It is continued until the heart can be restarted or the cause is diagnosed. CPR consists of regular compressions of the chest and rescue breathing. If a person's heart is working properly but they are not breathing, the aided breathing is called artificial respiration. The method is intended to keep a small amount of oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and heart so that the person is not permanently brain damaged if they are successfully resuscitated.