Think you know how to do CPR? You might be wrong

According to the American Heart Association, cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States. Every year, more than 350,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests occur in the U.S. 90% die because no one around them knows how to help. If they’d gotten CPR in the first few minutes, it could triple a person’s chance of survival.

You don’t have to do mouth to mouth anymore. Some would-be rescuers were so put off by that idea, they wouldn’t help the victim of a heart attack. So, the rules have changed. Just do CPR until the emergency responders arrive.

Talk to the victim to see if they’re responsive. Listen for breaths and feel for a pulse. If nothing is working, start compressions. You should try to begin within 10 seconds of the victim going down.

Lay them on their back, put your hands together one on top of the other and lace your fingers. Keep your arms locked, and push on the sternum 100 times per minute. You use your body weight to push the chest down. It will drop into the heart almost two inches, and that’s okay. Sometimes, it breaks a rib, but the experts say better to break a rib than die of a heart attack. The heart is like a sponge. When you push down, you push the blood out to the rest of the body. When you lift up, the heart sucks the blood back in.

Trade off with other people nearby when you get tired, which is usually in about two minutes. Keep doing compressions until the heart attack victim responds, or until EMT’s arrive.