Hands-only CPR is highly-recommended for bystander CPR. While the approach is straightforward and doesn’t require special training, the American Heart Association cautions that without continued practice even basic CPR skills start to decline before long.
In other words, use it or lose it.
The good news is you can conveniently practice hands-only CPR in the comfort of your home, keeping your skills sharp and you ready to jump in and save a life.
Let’s explore some tips for practicing CPR at home.
What You’ll Need
Never practice CPR on another person. It could cause serious injury.
You don’t need to practice on an official CPR manikin; DIY versions are effective and only require a minute or two to make with items you likely have at home. Here’s how.
- Get a towel, toilet paper roll, and t-shirt
- Fold the towel in half longways
- Put the toilet paper roll in the middle of the towel
- Pull the t-shirt through the inside of the toilet paper roll
- Fold the towel around it
Done! You have your manikin. Use the bump created by the toilet paper roll as the center of the chest.
Music keeps your rhythm right
Listening to certain music is helpful to maintaining effective chest compressions.
CPR is best performed at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute. Following along to a song with a matching beat is a great way to be sure you’ve moving at the correct pace. Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees is a popular CPR song, but there are many more.
Ready, set, practice!
You’ve made your manikin and selected your music. It’s time to start practicing CPR.
Place your manikin on the floor and kneel beside it. Imagine this scenario:
● You see a person collapse and think they may be in cardiac arrest.
● Check the person to see if they respond to you, have a pulse, and are breathing. If not, immediately call 911, or ask someone else to. The person calling 911 should retrieve an automated external defibrillator (AED) if one’s nearby.
● Stack your hands on the center of the chest and interlock your fingers. Keep your arms straight, but do not lock your elbows. Start compressions. A person’s survival rate drops 10% for every minute without CPR.
● Using the heel of your bottom hand, push down hard and fast in the center of the chest. If a song is guiding you, keep up with the beat (100-120 compression per minute), pushing to a depth of at least two inches. Perform several cycles. If you have a partner with you, take turns giving compressions, swapping places every two minutes.
It’s okay to pretend to use an AED when practicing CPR at home. An AED is a link in the cardiac arrest Chain of Survival and can increase survival rates up to 75%. Combined with CPR, an AED provides the best chance of survival to someone in cardiac arrest.
● Continue to perform compressions and follow AED prompts until emergency responders arrive.
That’s it!
Practicing CPR at home is an effective way to keep your life-saving skills sharp. In an emergency, you’ll be confident in your skills and ready to help save a life.
At Starting Hearts, we can provide specific training for making a life-saving difference.
Contact us for more information: info@startinghearts.org.
Alex Alcon is a registered nurse and healthcare writer based North Carolina.
