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Cardiac arrest - out of hospital care - Management
Basis for recommendation
These recommendations are based on guidelines from the Resuscitation Council (UK) [Resusucitation Council, 2010].
- The absence of breathing in someone who is non-responsive is the main sign of cardiac arrest. Checking the carotid pulse is not recommended, as there is evidence that relying on this to diagnose cardiac arrest is unreliable and time-consuming in both lay people and healthcare professionals without previous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training [Bahr et al, 1997; Ochoa et al, 1998].
- It is important to identify agonal gasps as an indication to start CPR, as studies have shown that agonal gasps are frequently misdiagnosed as normal breathing [Hauff et al, 2003].
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