Treat gasping in an unresponsive adult as not normal breathing and start the CPR/AED sequence.
The move: treat gasping as cardiac-arrest breathing until proven otherwise by professionals. Why gasps mislead bystanders Gasping can be dramatic enough to look like life is returning. But it is irregular, ineffective breathing and often appears when the heart is not circulating blood well enough. Do not let the presence of gasps make you wait. What to look for instead Normal breathing is regular and effective. If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing normally, activate emergency response, get the AED moving, and start compressions. How to say it in the room Use a short line: "Those are gasps, not…
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