How to Perform Adult CPR: A Complete Life-Saving Guide

What Is Adult CPR?

Adult CPR is a first-aid emergency procedure used when an adult is unresponsive and not breathing normally.

CPR helps keep blood moving to vital organs until professional medical help arrives. It does not replace emergency medical care. It is an immediate response that can be started by a trained person.

For a workplace, CPR training should not be limited to one person. Ideally, several employees should know what to do because an emergency can happen on any shift.

Give Rescue Breaths if You Are Trained

If you have CPR training and are willing and able to give rescue breaths, use the standard CPR cycle of 30 chest compressions followed by 2 breaths.

Open the airway and give each breath over about one second, watching for the chest to rise.

If you are not trained in rescue breathing, or you are not comfortable giving breaths, continuous chest compressions are still better than doing nothing.

A CPR course gives employees the chance to practice these steps with a manikin instead of trying to remember everything during a real emergency.

Use an AED When Available

An AED, or automated external defibrillator, can check the heart rhythm and may deliver a shock when needed.

If your workplace has an AED, ask someone to bring it while CPR continues.

Turn the AED on and follow its voice or visual instructions.

Place the pads on the person's bare chest as shown on the AED pads. The device will tell you when to stop touching the person so it can analyze the heart rhythm.

If a shock is advised, make sure nobody is touching the person and follow the AED's instructions.

Then continue CPR when instructed.

For factories and large offices, I strongly recommend that AED location and access are included in the workplace emergency plan. Employees should know where it is before an emergency happens.

CPR Training for Factories

Factories have their own challenges.

There may be machines, electrical systems, heat, chemicals, heavy equipment, confined areas, and large numbers of workers. An emergency response plan should consider these workplace conditions.

CPR training can be arranged for workers, supervisors, safety officers, HR teams, security staff, and other employees.

For larger factories, training different teams across different shifts can be useful. This helps ensure that trained people are available during working hours rather than depending on one employee.

For example, a manufacturing unit in Faridabad may have workers across multiple shifts. A facility in Noida or Greater Noida may have production areas, offices, warehouses, and loading zones.

Each workplace can build its CPR response plan around its own layout and workforce.

When to Stop CPR & What to Do If the Victim Recovers

Special Circumstances

CPR Certification Courses in Delhi NCR

24x7 Medical Service offers structured CPR training programmes tailored to healthcare professionals, corporate teams, schools, and the general public.

What Makes Good Workplace CPR Training?

Reading an article about how to perform adult CPR is useful, but reading alone cannot give you hands-on experience.

Good CPR training should include practical demonstrations and practice.

Participants should work with CPR manikins and learn the correct hand position, compression depth, compression rate, and overall sequence.

AED practice is also important.

I believe workplace CPR training works best when employees can ask simple questions and practice the steps more than once. When an emergency happens, people should not be seeing a CPR manikin for the first time.

Training should also be refreshed based on the requirements of the organization and the relevant first-aid/CPR training standard being followed.

Frequently Asked Questions About Adult CPR

Answers to the most common questions from students, bystanders, and organisations across Delhi NCR.

• Can I hurt someone by performing CPR? +

  Minor rib bruising or even a fracture can occur, but these are inconsequential compared to The alternative — death. A person in cardiac arrest is clinically dead; CPR cannot make their condition worse. India's Good Samaritan provisions protect well-intentioned rescuers from legal liability.

• Is mouth-to-mouth breathing absolutely necessary? +

  Not for bystander CPR on adults. Hands-only CPR (continuous chest compressions without rescue breaths) is highly effective in the critical first minutes after an adult collapses. Rescue breaths become more important in cases of drowning, respiratory arrest, prolonged resuscitation, and for children.

• What if I perform CPR on someone who doesn't need it? +

  If a person is breathing normally, responsive, or has a pulse, they don't need CPR. Always check for responsiveness and normal breathing before starting. If you're uncertain and the person is conscious, they will quickly indicate it — they will react, protest, or push you away.

• Can I use an AED without prior training? +

  Yes. Modern AEDs provide clear, step-by-step voice and visual instructions designed for untrained users. They also analyse the heart rhythm automatically and will not deliver a shock unless it is medically warranted. That said, formal training significantly increases your speed and confidence when it matters most.

• How long should I continue CPR before stopping? +

  Continue until professional EMS responders arrive and take over, the victim shows clear signs of life, an AED is ready to use, the environment becomes unsafe, or you are entirely unable to physically continue. Research documents successful resuscitations after 30 or more minutes of CPR — don't stop prematurely.

• How often should CPR certification be renewed? +

  CPR guidelines and techniques are updated regularly based on new research. We recommend refreshing your skills and recertifying every year to ensure you are practising the latest evidence-based techniques. Regular renewal also maintains the muscle memory needed for effective compressions.

• What is the difference between CPR and first aid? +

  CPR is a specific emergency procedure focused on cardiac and respiratory arrest. First aid is a broader set of skills covering treatment of injuries and medical emergencies including bleeding, burns, fractures, poisoning, and more. our comprehensive courses integrate both, giving you a complete emergency response toolkit.

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