Basic Life Support (BLS) Primary Survey for Respiratory Arrest

Last updated: December 20, 2020

2020 updated guidelines have been published by American Heart Association^®, by enrolling in our courses you will receive the current learning materials (2016 guidelines) now and also AUTOMATICALLY have free access to the 2021 guidelines when available. Please note that our company typically implements new training guidelines up to a year before AHA releases their updates.

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The main focus of the BLS Primary Survey (see Figure 1) is early CPR and early defibrillation, if needed. For a patient in respiratory arrest, however, the focus is on breathing and airway issues. The process starts with assessing the patient and then perform an appropriate action. Each step in the survey has an assessment and actions to follow.

Figure 1. Basic Life Support Decision Tree

Assessment	Action
Is the patient breathing?	Look for the rise and fall of the patient's chest.
Does the patient have a pulse?	The healthcare provider can take 5–10 seconds to check for a pulse.
AED	When the AED arrives, place it on the patient and follow the prompts

Is the patient breathing NORMALLY? (small gasping breaths are not considered normal.

If no pulse – BEGIN COMPRESSIONS at a rate of 100/min to 120/min

If not sure if a pulse is present, BEGIN COMPRESSIONS at a rate of 100/min to 120/min

If pulse is present and breathing absent, begin ventilation at a rate of 10 per minute or once every 6 seconds using mouth to mouth or bag valve mask.

The last step, defibrillation, is part of the primary survey, but is not required for respiratory arrest as the patient has a pulse for this case. Therefore the AED will advise the user "no shock advised, continue CPR if necessary."