If someone collapses in your presence, remember the letters A, B, C, D for Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Defibrillation.  Your early intervention can save lives!

This formula refers to the emergency steps that should be taken to rescue and revive people who faint because they are having heart (cardiac) or breathing (pulmonary) problems.  This is generally known as CPR - cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

First, see if the person is responsive or conscious by gently slapping them. If there is no response, follow the A,B,Cs:

A: make sure the person's airway is open, so the person can breathe.  If it is blocked or clogged, remove the blockage.
B: help the person breathe by doing "rescue breathing" (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation).
C: make sure the person's heart is working and blood circulating by doing chest compressions.

The "D" in the formula refers to defibrillation, which means giving a electric shock to the heart to make it start pumping (beating) in the correct rhythm.  An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a computerized device - about the size of a laptop computer - that is attached to a person's chest with wires.  It then checks the person's heart rhythm, decides if that rhythm is "off," and gives the heart the electric shock (called a defibrillating shock) that should restore the natural, correct rhythm. 

AEDs are very accurate and easy to use; learning to use one takes an hour or two at most. Although an AED is easily used by someone who is been trained to use it, it can be used even by an untrained person because it has voice prompts, lights, and text messages that tell you exactly what to do.  It literally guides you through each required step, from attaching the wires to the person who has collapsed, to administering the defibrillating shock if needed.  The devise automatically defibrillates; the user pushes a button and the machine decides whether a shock is needed and if not the machine does nothing.

Administering the A,B,C,Ds properly takes training.  Every local American Heart Association and Red Cross Chapters offer CPR training and there are courses that combine CPR and AED training

The AHA also has programs promoting the placement of AEDs in public areas such as sports arenas, office complexes, airplanes, trains, airports, doctor's offices, shopping malls, gated communities, etc.  The more publicly available AEDs - and the more people trained to use them - the more lives that will be saved.  You can help make this happen by contacting your local AHA chapter and joining its "PAD" (Public Access Defibrillation) program.

Get information about AHA's PAD program