The chain of survival refers to certain activities that must be done when providing first aid to a person in cardiac arrest. Remembering these steps and performing them one by one increases your chances of saving your life.

Chain of Survivalis an emergency medicine term that provides a diagram of what to do when you need to help someone in sudden cardiac arrest. It is very simple, and most importantly, anyone can do it.

As the paramedics emphasize, do not be afraid to help, because following these steps increases the chances of survival of the injured person by up to 50-70%.

As with any first aid procedure, time is of the essence: ideally, emergency measures should be undertaken within minutes of unconsciousness.

The chain of survival consists of the following steps:

  • early diagnosis of cardiac arrest and call for emergency services
  • start CPR early
  • early defibrillation
  • Early resuscitation and adequate post-resuscitation care

The first three steps can be performed by accidental witnesses, the last point belongs to paramedics or ambulance doctors who have professional equipment.

Chain of survival: step 1

Early diagnosis of cardiac arrest and calling emergency services is to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.

After we check whether we can safely provide help (e.g. in a car accident), first of all, you need to assess the condition of the victim and call the emergency services immediately.

We start with a gentle shake of the victim's shoulders, we ask what happened, we assess whether he is conscious, if so, our anxiety should also arouse symptoms such as

  • chest pain
  • shortness of breath
  • excessive sweating

which may herald cardiac arrest.

If the person is unconscious, the respiratory tract should be unblocked, i.e. the injured person should be placed on the back, one hand placed on the forehead, and with the fingertips of the other hand, lift the chin and tilt the head back.

Then we check ifbreathing is regular.

We bring our cheek close to the victim's mouth, and we observe the chest movements at the same time.

If the breathing is weak, heavy, or there are only single gasping reflexes or no gasping at all, we ask someone to call the emergency services (tel. 112 or 999) and we proceed to the next step in the chain of survival.

Chain of survival - step 2

Early CPR is to increase the chance of survival for the injured person.

You have to assume that if you are not breathing you are dealing with cardiac arrest. We put the injured person on his back, on a hard surface and uncover the chest.

We kneel on the side, put the wrist of one hand in the middle of the chest, place the other hand on it, interlock our fingers and press it rhythmically with our hands (hands must be perpendicular to the patient's chest, pressure should be a few centimeters deep ).

After 30 compressions, we give two rescue breaths using the mouth-to-mouth method. To do this, use the fingers of one hand to pinch the wings of the victim's nose, put his lips around his mouth and blow for about a second (the chest should rise).

Repeat a second time, then return to chest compressions, approximately 100 compressions per minute.

We continue early CPR until the ambulance arrives or the victim begins to breathe on his own.

Chain of survival - step 3

Early defibrillation is intended to help restore the heart to normal.

Statistics show that conducting an early resuscitation within 3-5 minutes of unconsciousness in combination with the use of a defibrillator increases the chance of survival up to 75%.

Each minute of delay reduces the probability of survival by 10-12%.

So if there is an automated external defibrillator (AED) near the scene where the victim is lying, don't be afraid to use it.

The defibrillator is most often available, for example, at railway stations, subway stations, airports, offices and shopping malls.

Electrical defibrillation is a procedure performed during CPR to deliver a DC electric pulse to pass through the heart.

Defibrillator discharge is intended to restore the normal heart rhythm.

The automatic external defibrillator is a device that is easy to use.

After switching on and placing the electrodes in the correct place, you must follow the procedurevoice commands that we will hear after starting the equipment.

Chain of survival - step 4

Early advanced life support and adequate post-resuscitation care are the last step in the chain of survival.

It consists in professional activities that take place on the spot, and then transporting the patient to the hospital and implementing specialist treatment.

Since the ambulance is able to reach the site within 10 minutes from the moment of receiving the notification, all actions taken by bystanders of the incident may have a decisive impact on saving the victim's life.

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