Health News Share Email Print How to do hands-only CPR Cardiac arrest can be reversible if treatment (including hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation—or CPR) is started immediately. If you spot the signs of sudden cardiac arrest, call 911. While you wait for help, do this. How to do hands-only CPR Cardiac arrest can be reversible if treatment (including hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation—or CPR) is started immediately. If you spot the signs of sudden cardiac arrest, call 911. While you wait for help, do this. Find the center of the person’s chest. Push hard and fast on that spot at a rate of 100 to 120 beats per minute—try pushing to the beat of the disco song "Stayin' Alive." Keep pushing until the person breathes normally or someone with more advanced CPR training takes over. Reviewed 8/29/2023 Sources American Heart Association. "CPR Guide." https://cpr.heart.org/-/media/CPR-Files/Courses-and-Kits/Hands-Only-CPR/2021HOCPR-documents/DS17758_CPRWeek_HOCPRvsCPR_02kk.pdf. American Heart Association. "CPR is Key to Survival of Sudden Cardiac Arrest." https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/07/12/cpr-is-key-to-survival-of-sudden-cardiac-arrest. American Heart Association. "Hands-only CPR Resources." https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr/hands-only-cpr-resources. American Heart Association. "Heart Attack and Sudden Cardiac Arrest." https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/about-heart-attacks/heart-attack-or-sudden-cardiac-arrest-how-are-they-different. Related stories Health information main Health tools go Select a health topic ADHD Aging Alcohol use disorder Allergies Alternative medicine Alzheimer's disease Arthritis Asthma Babies Backs Bladder Bones Brain Breast cancer Cancer Cancer prevention Caregiving Cervical cancer Children and parenting Cholesterol Colds Colorectal cancer Coronavirus Dental care Depression Diabetes Disaster preparedness Down syndrome Ears Eating disorders Emergencies End of life/Palliative care Environmental health Epilepsy Eyes Fall prevention Family and relationships Feet Fitness and exercise Flu Food safety Hair Headache Health assessments Health calculators Healthcare Heart attack Heart health Hepatitis Hernia High blood pressure Hips HIV/AIDS Holiday health Hormones Imaging Incontinence Joints Kidneys Knees Leukemia Liver Lung cancer Lungs Medications Men's health Menopause Mental health Multiple sclerosis Nails Nose Nutrition Obesity Oral cancer Ovaries Pain Parkinson's disease Pets Pneumonia Pregnancy Prostate cancer Rehabilitation Reproductive health Safety School health Sexuality Sexually transmitted infections Skin Skin cancer Sleep Smoking Sports injuries Stomach pain Stress and anxiety Stroke Substance use disorder Summer safety Surgery Teen health Throat Thyroid Travel Vaccines Vascular health Violence Vitamins and supplements Weight management Winter health Women's health Workplace health Wound care i Events CPR Class i Providers Cardiology Emergency Medicine i Services Cardiac Services RSS If you have questions or comments, please contact Randolph Health. Problems reading or opening a page? Legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site.