The Manual
Vol. I · No. 1 · September 2026
The Gentleman's Guide
Part IV · Health & SafetyNo. 140 · Page 6 of 20

CPR and basic emergency response

A short in-person CPR and first aid class, often free through the Red Cross, takes a few hours and is genuinely useful before an emergency, not during one. If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call emergency services immediately and begin chest compressions.

CPR and basic emergency response

The first sixty seconds

Check that the scene is safe, then tap the person's shoulders and shout. If there is no response, call 911 or point at one specific bystander and tell them to call, and send someone else for an AED. Put your phone on speaker, because the dispatcher will coach you through everything that follows. Look at the chest for no more than ten seconds. Occasional gasping or snorting is not normal breathing, and it fools many bystanders into waiting. No response and no normal breathing means you start compressions now.

Compressions that count

  1. Lay the person on their back on a firm, flat surface and kneel beside the chest.
  2. Place the heel of one hand on the center of the chest, on the lower half of the breastbone, and set your other hand on top.
  3. Lock your elbows, bring your shoulders over your hands, and push down hard, at least two inches on an adult.
  4. Let the chest rise fully after every push, and keep a rate of 100 to 120 a minute, which is nearly two per second.
  5. Keep going until an AED is ready, help takes over, or the person moves.

For a teenager or adult who collapses suddenly, hands-only CPR is what the American Heart Association asks of untrained bystanders. If you are trained, give thirty compressions and then two breaths. Children and drowning victims benefit most from the breaths. Trade places with another rescuer every two minutes, since tired compressions go shallow.

Using an AED

Open the case and turn the unit on, and it will talk you through the rest. Bare the chest, dry it if it is wet, and stick the pads where the pictures show. Make sure nobody touches the person while the machine analyzes or delivers a shock, then resume compressions immediately. The machine will not shock a heart that does not need it, so you cannot do harm by attaching one.

Choking

A person who can cough or speak should be encouraged to keep coughing. One who cannot make a sound needs help. Stand behind them, give five firm blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, then five quick inward and upward abdominal thrusts just above the navel, and alternate until the object comes out. If they go limp, lower them to the floor, call 911 and begin CPR.

Note Every state has a Good Samaritan law protecting bystanders who give reasonable emergency help in good faith. Fear of a lawsuit is not a reason to stand back.