BLS in The United States
BLS in the United States is generally identified with Emergency Medical Technicians-Basic (EMT-B). However, the American Heart Association's BLS protocol is designed for use by laypeople, as well as students and others certified first responder, and to some extent, higher medical function personnel. It includes cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, drowning, and foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO, or choking). EMT-B is the highest level of healthcare provider that is limited to the BLS protocol; higher medical functions use some or all of the Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocols, in addition to BLS protocols.
The algorithm for providing basic life support to adults in the USA was published in 2005 in the journal Circulation by the American Heart Association (AHA).
The AHA uses four-link "Chain of Survival" to illustrate the steps needed to resuscitate a collapsed victim:
- Early recognition of the emergency and activation of emergency medical services
- Early bystander CPR, so as not to delay treatment until arrival of EMS
- Early use of a defibrillator
- Early advanced life support and post-resuscitation care
Bystanders with training in BLS can perform the first 3 of the 4 steps.
Basic Life Support 2011 Guideline 2010 Circulation article
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/122/18_suppl_3/S685
Steps in resuscitation are now DRS C-A-B in this sequence
- Check for Danger
- Check for Response
- ‘S’ has been added for Send for help
- ‘C’ directs rescuers to perform 30 Compressions to patients who are unresponsive and not breathing normally, followed by 2 rescue breaths
- ‘A’ directs rescuers to open the Airway
- ‘B’ directs rescuers to check Breathing but no need to deliver rescue breaths
- ‘D’ directs rescuers to attach an AED as soon as it is available and follow prompts
The major change is that in the patient who is unresponsive and not breathing CPR commences with chest compressions rather than rescue breaths. If unwilling / unable to perform rescue breathing, then perform compression-only CPR, as any attempt at resuscitation is better than no attempt; and should be encouraged.
Read more about this topic: Basic Life Support
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