The Hellenic Red Cross, on the occasion of World Heart Restart Day (October 16), gives instructions on how to react in the event of a person’s cardiac arrest. This year’s message is “All citizens of the world can save a life”.

Guidelines of the health sector of the Hellenic Red Cross

If the victim is unresponsive and not breathing normally (i.e. taking less than 2 breaths in 10 seconds), the situation is critical and we should react quickly. That’s why:

• We check if the person reactspatting the shoulders and asking, “are you okay”
• If he does not react, we check if he is breathing, bringing our ear close to his mouth, seeing at the same time his chest if he makes breathing movements.
• If he is not breathing, call the Emergency Services immediately at numbers 166 and 112 and we start CPR.

How we do CPR

• We place our hands on top of each other in the center of the chest and apply 30 chest compressions. We estimate about 2 compressions per second.
• Then, we apply 2 rescue breaths, using the mouth-to-mouth technique. We continue with alternating 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths, until we see signs of life or until the ambulance arrives.
• The order of resuscitation for children and infants is the same as for adults, with some differences.

It is noted that in the ten cardiac arrests that occur, less than 20% of those present are able to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This percentage is, in some cases, much lower, reaching 5%. If these rates could, through proper training, be improved, hundreds of thousands of lives would be saved after out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests.