AHA Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED cheat sheet

Scene safety comes before any care: check for traffic, fire, water, electrical hazards, and hazardous materials before approaching a victim.

Adult first aid chain: recognize emergency, activate EMS (or send someone), provide care, and stay until help arrives.

Severe bleeding: apply firm direct pressure with a dressing or clean cloth; add layers if blood soaks through rather than removing the soaked dressing.

Burns: cool with cool running water for at least 10 minutes (up to 20), then cover loosely with a sterile, nonstick dressing; do not apply ice.

Choking adult or child who cannot speak, cough, or breathe: give abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver); for an infant under 1 year, give 5 back slaps then 5 chest thrusts.

Suspected stroke: use the F.A.S.T. screen - Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call EMS.

Suspected spinal injury: keep the head and neck in line with the body and avoid unnecessary movement unless the scene is unsafe or the airway is threatened.

Anaphylaxis signs (hives, swelling of face or throat, trouble breathing) after an exposure: help the person use their prescribed epinephrine auto-injector and call EMS.

Diabetic emergency: if the person is conscious and can swallow, give sugar (glucose gel, juice, or candy); if unresponsive, do not give anything by mouth and call EMS.

Adult CPR: compressions at least 2 inches (5 cm) deep at 100-120 per minute, with full chest recoil between compressions.

Compression-to-breath ratio for one- or two-rescuer adult, child, and infant CPR is 30 compressions to 2 breaths.

Adult responsiveness check: tap and shout; if unresponsive and not breathing normally, activate EMS and begin CPR immediately.

Child CPR: use one or two hands for compressions, about one-third the depth of the chest (about 2 inches); infant CPR uses two fingers (one rescuer) or two thumbs encircling (two rescuers).

Agonal gasps (occasional irregular gasps) are not normal breathing - treat as cardiac arrest and start CPR.

Hands-only (compression-only) CPR is acceptable for untrained or reluctant bystanders on an adult who suddenly collapses.

Switch compressors about every 2 minutes to limit fatigue; interruptions in compressions should be kept under 10 seconds.

For an unresponsive infant or child who is not breathing, give 2 rescue breaths first, then begin cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths.

Defibrillation is integrated with CPR: resume compressions immediately after a shock and continue until AED prompts or EMS takes over.

Turn the AED on first and follow its voice prompts; the device analyzes the rhythm and decides whether a shock is needed.

Bare and dry the chest before applying pads; remove medication patches and wipe away moisture, and move the person away from water or metal surfaces.

Adult pad placement is typically upper right chest and lower left side of the chest; pediatric pads or a pediatric attenuator are used for children under 8 years or under about 55 lb (25 kg) when available.

Do not touch the person during rhythm analysis or shock delivery; call 'clear' and confirm no one is in contact.

If an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator is visible, place the pad at least 1 inch (about 2.5 cm) away from the device.

Hairy chest may prevent good pad contact: if pads do not adhere, quickly shave or use a second set of pads per manufacturer guidance.

After a shock, immediately resume chest compressions; the AED will reanalyze after about 2 minutes of CPR.

An AED can be used on a person with a wet chest only after moving them from standing water and drying the skin; never use an AED in a pool or standing water.