Is the previous AHA recommendation for bystanders wrong?
A. No. With the publication of the 2005 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC, the AHA emphasized that the most critical component of performing CPR is delivery of high quality chest compressions with minimal interruptions. That remains true and can be accomplished for all victims of cardiac arrest using conventional CPR, that is, CPR with breathing (mouth-to-mouth). AHA experts recognize that mouth-to-mouth breathing is a relatively complex skill. If rescuers have not practiced the combination of breathing with chest compressions, the delivery of breaths can result in long and potentially detrimental interruptions to chest compressions. In addition, recent evidence demonstrates that bystander Hands-Only CPR is as effective as conventional CPR in the first few minutes of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, Hands-Only CPR is now considered an appropriate bystander response to out-of-hospital adult sudden cardiac arrest.
