What is Cardiopulmonary resuscitation?
{{merge|Resuscitation}} [[Image:Illustration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.jpg|right|thumb|A man doing '''chest compressions'''.]] '''Cardiopulmonary resuscitation''' ('''CPR''') is a set of actions that should be done if a person stops [[breathing]], or if their [[Cardiac arrest|heart stops]]. The goal of CPR is to force [[blood]] and [[oxygen]] to keep flowing through the body. Every part of the body needs blood and oxygen to survive. CPR does not start a person's heart again. However, it can keep pushing blood and oxygen around the body long enough that sometimes, it can keep the body from getting damaged by [[Ischaemia|not having enough oxygen]]. There are different types of CPR. Regular people, who are not medical professionals, can do these things: * Realize that a person is not breathing or has suddenly collapsed * Call [[9-1-1|911]] (or whatever the [[emergency telephone number]] in their country is) * Do chest compressions (press hard and fast in the middle of the chest, on the [[Sternum|breastbone]], until help comes; this will force blood to keep flowing to the body) Many medical professionals can also do these things: * They can use a machine called a [[defibrillator]] to give an electric shock to the heart. This will not restart a heart that is not beating. However, if the heart is beating in a [[Cardiac arrhythmia|way that is not normal]], the electric shock may make the heart go back into a normal rhythm. *If the heart is not beating at all, they can give medicines (like [[epinephrine]] or [[atropine]]) to restart the heart. * If the heart is not beating in a normal rhythm, they can give medicines to make it start beating in a normal rhythm again * They can force oxygen into a patient's lungs, in a few different ways: ** With a bag-valve-mask (by placing a mask over the patient's face and squeezing a bag that is attached and is filled with oxygen) ** By placing a tube down a patient's throat to deliver oxygen more directly (this is called [[intubation]]). * They can use an [[artificial