Updated CPR Guidelines

The American Heart Association has recently released an updated guide to CPR. The 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and ECC includes the following changes to previous CPR protocol:

• Compression rate should be at least 100 compressions per minute, as opposed to “approximately” 100 per minute.
• Compression depth should be at least 2 inches in adults, approximately 2 inches in children and 1.5 inches in infants. The previous recommendation was 1.5 to 2 inches in adults, and the absolute depth for children and infants was less than it is now.
• The basic life support sequence of A-B-C (airway, breathing, compression) has been changed to C-A-B (compression, airway, breathing) for adults, children and infants. The A-B-C order remains in place for newborns.

According to the AHA, the new guidelines are “based on an extensive review of resuscitation literature and many debates and discussions by international resuscitation experts and members of the AHA ECC Committee and Subcommittees.” To view the guidelines in their entirety, visit www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAndECC/Science/Guidelines/Guidelines_UCM_303151_SubHomePage.jsp