There has been a fundamental change to the standard US CPR process.

Instead of what we all grew up with, alternating chest compressions with mouth-to-mouth, the process has changed to be chest compressions only. Approximately 100 compressions per minute until a rescue team arrives.

The videos I’ve watched talk a little bit about the reason behind the change, from both a compliance standpoint and a physiologic standpoint.

From a compliance standpoint, people were too afraid of hurting the patient (and subsequent fear of a lawsuit, I’d imagine), and in this day of transmittable diseases, I would imagine there was a fear there as well. So, by not requiring mouth-to-mouth, you remove a large psychological (and legal) barrier.

From a physiologic standpoint, the reason behind the change is that there is already sufficient oxygen in the bloodstream to last at least 10 minutes, and the real issue is keeping the blood circulating (particularly to the brain). Manual chest compressions keep the blood circulating.

The underlying message: They are already dead. You can’t hurt them.

Read more, learn about the free iPhone app, and watch videos at the AHA web site.