EMT Basic · Chapter 14 · Review · Chapter track

BLS Resuscitation

Referencing the content of EMT-Basic training and emergency patient care

Learning objectives (35)

Demonstrate how to check for a pulse at the brachial artery in an unresponsive infant — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to check for a pulse at the carotid artery in an unresponsive child or adult — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to perform a jaw-thrust maneuver on a pediatric patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to perform a jaw-thrust maneuver on an adult — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to perform external chest compressions on an adult. (pp 563–565, Skill Drill 14-1) 4. Demonstrate how to perform a head tilt–chin lift maneuver on an adult — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to perform rescue breathing in an adult — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to perform rescue breathing on a child — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to perform rescue breathing on an infant — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to place a patient in the recovery position — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to position an unresponsive adult for CPR — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to remove a foreign body airway obstruction in a responsive adult patient using abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to remove a foreign body airway obstruction in a responsive child older than 1 year using abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to remove a foreign body airway obstruction in a responsive pregnant or obese patient using chest thrusts — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Demonstrate how to remove a foreign body airway obstruction in an unresponsive child. (pp 591–592, Skill Drill 14-6) 22. Demonstrate how to remove a foreign body airway obstruction — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the different mechanical devices that are available to assist emergency care providers in delivering improved circulatory efforts during CPR — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the different methods for removing a foreign body airway obstruction in an infant, child, and adult, including the procedure for a patient with an obstruction who becomes — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the different possible causes of cardiopulmonary arrest in children — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the ethical issues related to patient resuscitation, including examples of when not to start CPR on a patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the process of providing artificial ventilations to an adult patient, ways to avoid gastric distention, and modifications required for a patient with a stoma — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the proper way to position an adult patient to receive BLS care — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the purpose of external chest compressions — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the recovery position and circumstances that would warrant its use as well as situations in which it would be contraindicated — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Describe the two techniques EMTs may use to open an adult patient’s airway and the circumstances that would determine when each technique would be used — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Discuss guidelines for circumstances that require the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) on both adult and pediatric patients experiencing cardiac arrest — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Discuss how to provide grief support for a patient’s family members and loved ones after resuscitation has ended — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Discuss the importance of frequent CPR training for EMTs, as well as public education programs that teach compression-only CPR — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain common causes of foreign body airway obstruction in both children and adults and how to distinguish mild or partial airway obstruction from complete airway obstruction — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 556); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the components of CPR, the five links in the American Heart Association (AHA) chain of survival, and how each one relates to maximizing the survival of a patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the elements of basic life support (BLS), how it differs from advanced life support (ALS), and why BLS must be applied rapidly — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the four steps of pediatric BLS procedures and how they differ from BLS procedures used in an adult patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the goals of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and when it should be performed on a patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the steps in providing single-rescuer adult CPR — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the steps in providing two-rescuer adult CPR, including the method for switching positions during the process — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain the various factors involved in the decision to stop CPR after it has been started on a patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Explain three special situations related to the use of an AED — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 555); confirm wording in your course copy.
- AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
- American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross

Chapter web resources

Optional reading from authoritative sites. Your textbook remains the primary source for this course.

AHA CPR and ECC guidelines · AHA
Current BLS algorithms
American Red Cross CPR · American Red Cross
Alternate BLS training reference

When sources disagree (5 topics to verify before you teach from this chapter alone)

Printable study sheet Printable flashcards (PDF, 10-up)Read first, then practise the track.

Showing Chapter track material. Switch tracks on the chapter page.

Vocabulary · 12

Basic Life Support (BLS)
The non-invasive emergency care provided to patients in cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, or airway obstruction.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — Basic Life Support (BLS)
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Emergency procedure combining chest compressions and rescue breaths to maintain circulation and oxygenation during cardiac arrest.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — What is CPR?
Chain of Survival
The sequence of actions that improve survival from cardiac arrest — recognition and activation, early CPR, defibrillation, advanced resuscitation, post-arrest care, and recovery.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — Chain of Survival
High-quality CPR
Compressions at 100–120 per minute, 2–2.4 inches deep in adults, with full chest recoil and minimal interruptions.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — High-quality CPR
Compression-to-ventilation ratio
For lay rescuers and single EMTs without an advanced airway, the standard adult ratio is 30 compressions to 2 breaths.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — BLS compression-to-ventilation ratio
Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC)
Restoration of a sustained, perfusing heart rhythm after cardiac arrest.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — ROSC
Automated external defibrillator (AED)
A portable device that analyzes the heart rhythm and, when indicated, delivers an electrical shock to restore a normal rhythm.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — About AEDs
Agonal gasps
Irregular, ineffective breathing seen early in cardiac arrest; not adequate breathing — start CPR.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — Agonal breathing
Pulse check
Carotid (adult/child) or brachial (infant) pulse check lasting no more than 10 seconds during BLS.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — BLS pulse check
Chest recoil
Allowing the chest to fully return to its original position between compressions to permit cardiac refilling.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — Chest recoil during CPR
Two-finger technique
Single-rescuer infant CPR using two fingers in the center of the chest, just below the nipple line.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — Infant CPR
Two-thumb encircling technique
Two-rescuer infant CPR using both thumbs centrally with hands encircling the chest — preferred when two rescuers are present.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — Infant CPR — two-thumb technique

Sequences · 2

Adult BLS — single rescuer encountering an unresponsive person — Order the BLS actions for an adult who appears to be in cardiac arrest.
Out-of-hospital Chain of Survival — Order the AHA Chain of Survival links for adult out-of-hospital arrest.