Analyzing the Effectiveness of Different Forms of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Background: In order to simulate a heartbeat in a cardiac arrest patient, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) requires that chest compressions be delivered with a force of at least 560 N at a rate >100 compressions/min. Many new learners initially use CPR forms that may not meet these parameters sufficiently. We examined three forms of CPR: the form recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) and two forms that are common among new learners but that are considered incorrect, using a CPR manikin placed on a force plate. Four trained CPR users tested the different methods.

Discussion: AHA-recommended CPR is the most effective, delivering a force of 737.2 ± 5.3 N at a rate of 103.2 ± 1.2 compressions/min. Compressions using a bent arms method delivered compressions with a force of 511.8 ± 4.1 N at a rate of 112.8 ± 3.0 compressions/min. Compressions using a different hand position from that recommended by the AHA delivered compressions with a force of 433.3 ± 3.2 N at a rate of 115.2 ± 1.2 compressions/min.

Conclusions: AHA-recommended CPR more effectively compresses a patient's heart than the bent-arms method or the alternate hand-position method, and, of the three methods, only the AHA-recommended form can reliably simulate a patient's heartbeat.