Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

1. Big picture

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the emergency treatment of cardiac arrest, where the heart has stopped producing effective circulation. The goal is simple:

Recognize cardiac arrest early
→ call for help
→ start high-quality chest compressions
→ defibrillate shockable rhythms early
→ continue ALS algorithm
→ treat reversible causes
→ optimize post-ROSC care

For the exam, CPR is mostly about sequence and not wasting time. The two rhythms that need shocks are ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT). The two non-shockable rhythms are asystole and pulseless electrical activity (PEA).

Current