Latest AHA Guideline Updates
Current American Heart Association (AHA) guidance strongly encourages untrained (lay) responders to begin hands-only (compression-only) CPR for adults who suddenly collapse. If you are trained and able, CPR with breaths may provide additional benefit, using the standard cycle of 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths.
During outbreaks of contagious respiratory illness—or anytime there is concern about disease transmission—rescuers may choose hands-only CPR and use appropriate protective measures when available, following local emergency guidance.
These recommendations apply primarily to adults who suddenly collapse from cardiac arrest. Rescue breathing is still especially important for children and for situations where the arrest may be related to lack of oxygen, such as drowning or overdose.
The science is simple: for the first several minutes after an adult cardiac arrest, there may still be oxygen in the bloodstream. Effective compressions help circulate that oxygen to the brain and heart.
The guidelines also emphasize high-quality CPR: push hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100–120 compressions per minute, to a depth of at least 2 inches in adults, allowing full chest recoil between compressions.
Another key update is the recommended sequence for a lone rescuer: begin with chest compressions first (C-A-B instead of A-B-C) to reduce delays to the first compression.
Compression depth guidance is also described by body size: for children and infants, compress to about one-third the depth of the chest.