Okuzeka
Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · CPR and Resuscitation

CPR

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˌsiː piː ˈɑːr/abbreviationCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, CPR means: Short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation: chest compressions, often with rescue breaths, given to someone whose heart has stopped, to keep blood and oxygen moving to the brain.

In Turkish: KPR, kalp masajı, kardiyopulmoner resüsitasyon

How it is used

Said letter by letter. People start, perform, give or continue CPR. You will also hear 'bystander CPR' (done by members of the public), 'hands-only CPR' (compressions without breaths) and '30:2', read as 'thirty to two', meaning thirty compressions to two breaths.

Example sentences

  1. She's not breathing normally. Start CPR and I'll get the AED.

  2. The crew continued CPR all the way to the hospital.

Common collocations

  • start CPR
  • perform CPR
  • bystander CPR
  • hands-only CPR
  • continue CPR
  • chest compressionsHard, fast, rhythmic pushes on the centre of the chest during CPR that squeeze the heart and keep some blood flowing to the brain.
  • rescue breathsBreaths that a rescuer blows into a person's lungs, mouth to mouth or through a mask, when that person is not breathing normally.
  • cardiac arrestA sudden stop in the heart's effective pumping, so that blood no longer reaches the brain and the person collapses and stops breathing normally.
  • AEDShort for automated external defibrillator: a portable device that checks the heart rhythm through pads on the chest and gives an electric shock if one is needed.
  • resuscitationEmergency treatment to restart or support breathing and circulation in someone who is dying or very unstable, including CPR, shocks, drugs and fluids.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: CPR and Resuscitation

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.