6 Common CPR Mistakes

When performing CPR, there are mistakes that can be made. These can be remedied by making the decision to learn CPR online with MyCPR NOW, and becoming comfortable and confident with these critical steps so you can perform CPR properly, if ever the need should arise.

#1  Not calling 9-1-1. Be sure to call for assistance or direct someone to do so immediately so first responders can be on their way. Performing CPR properly takes a lot of physical and mental energy, so you will want experienced emergency medical support on-scene as soon as possible.  

#2  Not assessing the situation properly. Don’t become the next victim on-scene, maintain good situational awareness, and do a quick risk assessment ensuring the scene is safe before you begin assisting the victim. 

#3  Not maintaining proper compression rate. Compressions must be kept at 100-120 a minute. The ratio of compressions to breaths should be 30:2, which means two rescue breaths after every 30 compressions, do your best to maintain a steady rhythm. 

#4  Not maintaining proper compression depth. Compression depth is always a concern, considering the depth changes from adult to child CPR. Your goal is to compress the chest about 1-inch in depth for children, and 2-inches depth for adults.

#5  Not placing your hands properly and maintaining proper form. Keep your elbows straight and fingers interlocked so the right amount of pressure and force are applied. The heel of your hand should be in the middle of the victim’s sternum or breastbone or in line with their armpits or nipple line.

#6  Not maintaining a proper ventilation rate. Delivering ventilations too fast and too many, does not allow for proper air exchange within the lungs. Tidal volume is the amount of air needed for air exchange in the lungs and delivering too much air during ventilations, can cause air to move into the stomach and eventually cause the victim to vomit.

MyCPR NOW offers free practice CPR  tests or quizzes to give you CPR and First Aid knowledge and skills, like the First Aid CPR quiz, practice CPR Tests and even free CPR tests. The answers to CPR testing are given post-test or quiz, whichever is taken, allowing for review and explanation of the information.

Take the first step to get CPR certified today with MyCPR NOW, study and retest as many times as needed. 

CPR/AED CERTIFICATION
Back to blog