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What Is Basic Life Support?

Basic life support is a type of medical care used on someone with a life-threatening injury or condition until full medical care can be given. An emergency responder or someone trained in BLS can provide this critical care. BLS can be provided without medical equipment, usually in a non-hospital setting.

  1. About

    • Basic life support is not invasive and doesn't include any drugs. Responders such as police officers and firefighters are usually required to become trained in BLS. It's also helpful to teachers, daycare providers and other professionals.

    Techniques

    • Basic life support techniques are aimed at the maintenance of the ABCs---airway, breathing and circulation. Your actions clear the airway so gases can pass into the lungs, inflate and deflate the lungs and provide blood to the body to improve circulation.

    CPR

    • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation given in the field can keep the victim alive while you wait for medical responders to arrive. Anyone who starts CPR should call for help so that advanced life support can be administered.

    AED

    • Automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, can improve the likelihood of survival, because they deliver defibrillation to patients having a heart attack. The device has shown great potential when used in cases of cardiac arrest.

    Heimlich Maneuver

    • When someone is choking, his airway is obstructed. He may stop breathing and lose consciousness. If he can talk, encourage him to cough until the object is removed. If he can't talk, perform the Heimlich maneuver to try to remove the object. Stand behind him with your arms around his waist. Place your fist above his navel, with your thumb against the middle of his abdomen. Grasp with your other fist and thrust into the abdomen with an upward motion, until the object expels from his throat.

    Certification

    • Agencies such as the Red Cross and American Heart Association provide BLS courses. The courses are approximately 4 hours long and lead to a course certification card.

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