Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care. Emergency Cardiac Care Committee and Subcommittees, American Heart Association. Part II. Adult basic life support

Abstract

BASIC life support (BLS) is the phase of emergency cardiac care (ECC) that (1) prevents respiratory or circulatory arrest or insufficiency through prompt recognition and intervention or (2) supports the ventilation of a victim of respiratory arrest with rescue breathing or the ventilation and circulation of a victim of cardiac arrest with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The major objective of performing rescue breathing or CPR is to provide oxygen to the brain and heart until appropriate, definitive medical treatment (advanced cardiac life support [ACLS]) can restore normal heart and ventilatory action. The prompt administration of BLS is the key to success. In respiratory arrest, the survival rate may be very high if airway control and rescue breathing are started promptly.¹For cardiac arrest the highest hospital discharge rate has been achieved in patients in whom CPR was initiated within 4 minutes of arrest and ACLS within 8 minutes.²Early