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Marissa Miramontes

English 301

Professor Brody

October 19, 2018

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Upon hearing the term Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, one can acknowledge that it is in

fact, a medical term, however few are aware of what it truly is. The acronym, CPR, stands for

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. This acronym, is quite common to the general public. CPR is

the lifesaving process which is completed in emergency situations that involve breathing for an

individual and applying external chest compressions to help aid in getting the heart to pump.

For instance, to truly understand the lifesaving process, one must understand what

cardiopulmonary resuscitation means. The prefix cardio- is a term referring to “pertaining to the

heart”, while the prefix pulm(o) refers to “pertaining to the lungs” (cardio-,n.d). With

resuscitation referring the to the process of correcting a physiological disorder, Cardiopulmonary

Resuscitation is the technique to correct the physiological disorder of an individual’s lungs and

heart. This is why this technique is used to aid individuals whom have stopped breathing

(Definition, n.d).
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Looking back, the first account of an individual completing Cardiopulmonary

Resuscitation (CPR) can be seen as far back as biblical times, however, successful methods of

CPR were not apparent until the early nineteenth century (History of CPR, n.d.). As early as

1070, the Paris Academy of Sciences officially recommended mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for

drowning victims and in 1903, Dr. George Crile reported the first successful use of external chest

compressions in human resuscitation (Histoy of CPR, n.d.). It was in 1962 that the American

Heart Association established “Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency

Cardiovascular Care” (AHA).

Furthermore, this process is crucial in the practice of medicine in that it enabled

individuals to save lives. It was through this practice that the face of medicine was changed as

we know it today. As with any process or medical procedures, medical advancements and

techniques are constantly changing and continuously being updated. CPR can be done not only

on adults, but children and infants as well.

In addition to traditional CPR courses, According to the American Heart Association

(AHA), in 1998 the first pediatric courses with pediatrics BLS, pediatric ALS, and neonatal
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resuscitation, cosponsored with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AHA). This was

influential in that not only was CPR becoming a standardized technique in saving lives, but that

this technique was taught to educate individuals to make CPR for children, a common technique

as well. The technique is similar, however, it is the rate of compressions which differs between

infants, children, and adults. Before beginning the CPR technique, the individual whom is

needing CPR should be first placed on a flat surface. According to Khan and Vaillancourt, their

study showed that for adults, patient survival was highest when compressions were between 100

and 120 compressions per minute (Khan &Vaillancourt,2017). When conducting CPR, there is

also an adequate compression depth for adults, children and infants. For adults and children the

compression depth is 5cm, where in comparison for infants, it is 4cm or approximately 1 ½

inches (Part 12: Pediatric, 2010)

All things considered, CPR is more than a technique to aid in reviving an individual but

rather this technique has changed the practice of medicine. Since its first use, countless lives

have been saved. According to the AHA, approximately 16 million individuals globally are
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trained to administer CPR. It is through knowing this life saving technique that countless lives

shall be continued to be saved.

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References

Cardio-. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.etymonline.com/word/cardio-

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2632

Definition of Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2632

History of CPR. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://cpr.heart.org/AHAECC/CPRAndECC/AboutCPRFirstAid/HistoryofCPR/UCM_4
757 51_History-of-CPR.jsp

Khan, F., & Vaillancourt, C. (2017). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CMAJ : Canadian Medical
Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 189(1), E25.

LaHood, N., & Moukabary, T. (2009, July 31). History of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Retrieved from
https://journals.viamedica.pl/cardiology_journal/article/view/21468/17072

Part 12: Pediatric Advanced Life Support. (2010, October). Retrieved from
https://eccguidelines.heart.org/index.php/circulation/cpr-ecc-guidelines-2/part-12-
pediatric-advanced-life-support/

(2012). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: new concept. Tuberculosis and respiratory

diseases, 72(5), 401-8.