Key TakeawaysThe American Heart Association has released new CPR guidance in response to the pandemic.The guidance recommends wearing a mask and other PPE during CPR.Experts say people should wear a mask when performing CPR outside of medical settings, too.

Key Takeaways

The American Heart Association has released new CPR guidance in response to the pandemic.The guidance recommends wearing a mask and other PPE during CPR.Experts say people should wear a mask when performing CPR outside of medical settings, too.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has updated its cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines to protect healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The interim guidance was released on January 24, 2022, and advises healthcare providers to wear a respirator, like an N95 mask, along with other personal protective equipment (PPE) like a gown, gloves, and eye protection, when performing CPR on people with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.

The AHA stressed the importance of wearing the appropriate PPE before performing procedures that can produce aerosols like chest compression, defibrillation, bag-mask ventilation, and intubation.

How to Do CPR

“In the event initial responders are not already wearing appropriate PPE, they should immediately put on PPE and then begin CPR,” the AHAsaid in a press release. “As the science surrounding COVID-19 and variants evolves, healthcare professionals should continue to follow the most up-to-date recommendations from the [World Health Organization], [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], and their regional health authorities and local institutions.”

The AHA also noted that heart attack survival rates have dramatically decreased during the pandemic, noting that “the reasons for this decline are both unclear and complex.”

Survival of a heart attack “is dependent on early initiation of CPR, including chest compressions as soon as it is safely possible,” the AHA said, adding, “patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should receive the best resuscitative efforts possible.”

Doing CPR immediately can double or triple a person’s odds of survival after a heart attack.CPR helps keep a person’s blood flow active and raises the odds a patient will be able to be successfully resuscitated once trained medical staff is available.

Doing CPR immediately can double or triple a person’s odds of survival after a heart attack.

CPR helps keep a person’s blood flow active and raises the odds a patient will be able to be successfully resuscitated once trained medical staff is available.

“CPR saves lives and it is important in the midst of a pandemic to ensure that those performing CPR are aware of what PPE will keep them safe during this procedure,”Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Verywell.

The new guidance raises some questions, including what this means for people who need to perform CPR outside of a medical setting. Here’s what you need to know.

The recommended form of CPR when an adult or teen suddenly collapses is called hands-only CPR. (This doesn’t involve breathing for someone with rescue breaths.) These are the recommended steps involved in hands-only CPR, per the American Red Cross:

What This Means For YouThe AHA’s new guidance on CPR is technically for healthcare workers, but experts say that wearing a well-fitting mask is important if you ever need to perform CPR on someone outside a medical setting.

What This Means For You

The AHA’s new guidance on CPR is technically for healthcare workers, but experts say that wearing a well-fitting mask is important if you ever need to perform CPR on someone outside a medical setting.

This New Guidance Makes Sense

Experts say the new guidance just makes sense.

“If you’re doing chest compressions, you have the potential to aerosolize respiratory secretions,”Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo, told Verywell. “You’re going to be in close contact with that person and it’s critical to protect yourself.”

ButLewis Nelson, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told Verywell that gowns are probably unnecessary. “While masks clearly provide benefit against an airborne virus, gowns are primarily sanitary,” he said. “There are no credible data that suggest that one can transmit COVID-19 through touching of clothes, curtains, door handles, or surfaces.”

How the New Guidance Applies to Everyone Else

Technically, the new guidance is just aimed at healthcare workers. However, experts say that you should keep it in mind if you ever need to perform CPR on someone outside of a medical setting.

Survey Shows Why Women Receive CPR Less Frequently Than Men

Jennifer Wong, MD, a cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in California,told Verywell that it’s “reasonable” to advise people to wear some level of protection while performing CPR.

“Certainly with COVID being so transmissible, it makes sense to recommend masks at least,” she said. “In general, it’s probably a good idea to be masking in most situations if you can.”

3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Atkins D, Sasson C, Hsu A, et al.2022 Interim guidance to healthcare providers for basic and advanced cardiac life support in adults, children, and neonates with suspected or confirmed COVID-19: from the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee and Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation Adult and Pediatric Task Forces of the American Heart Association in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care, The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and American Society of Anesthesiologists.Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. Published online January 24, 2022. doi:10.1161/circoutcomes.122.008900American Heart Association.What is CPR?American Red Cross.Hands-only CPR.

3 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Atkins D, Sasson C, Hsu A, et al.2022 Interim guidance to healthcare providers for basic and advanced cardiac life support in adults, children, and neonates with suspected or confirmed COVID-19: from the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee and Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation Adult and Pediatric Task Forces of the American Heart Association in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care, The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and American Society of Anesthesiologists.Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. Published online January 24, 2022. doi:10.1161/circoutcomes.122.008900American Heart Association.What is CPR?American Red Cross.Hands-only CPR.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Atkins D, Sasson C, Hsu A, et al.2022 Interim guidance to healthcare providers for basic and advanced cardiac life support in adults, children, and neonates with suspected or confirmed COVID-19: from the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee and Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation Adult and Pediatric Task Forces of the American Heart Association in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care, The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and American Society of Anesthesiologists.Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. Published online January 24, 2022. doi:10.1161/circoutcomes.122.008900American Heart Association.What is CPR?American Red Cross.Hands-only CPR.

Atkins D, Sasson C, Hsu A, et al.2022 Interim guidance to healthcare providers for basic and advanced cardiac life support in adults, children, and neonates with suspected or confirmed COVID-19: from the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee and Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation Adult and Pediatric Task Forces of the American Heart Association in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care, The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and American Society of Anesthesiologists.Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. Published online January 24, 2022. doi:10.1161/circoutcomes.122.008900

American Heart Association.What is CPR?

American Red Cross.Hands-only CPR.

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