All compressions unless performed on an infant are performed with the same procedure. Place the hands correctly by using the inter mammary line. Lock the arms into a straight but comfortable position. The use your body to provide smooth regular compressions with full release of the chest.

• Depth of compressions: The target is to compress the chest between 1.5 inches and 2 inches. Compressing the chest less than 1.5 inches will reduce blood flow and greater than 2 inches will increase the likelihood of injuring the victim.
• Rate of compression: The recommended rate is 100 per minute. This means that each compression should be performed in about .6 of a second. A rate of less than 100 per minute will decrease forward blood flow, and a rate greater than 100 will increase
  fatigue, which leads to other performance errors.
• Full chest recoil: When a compression is released, elastic recoil of the chest will create a negative pressure that pulls blood into the chest. Incomplete decompression will reduce the amount of blood available to be circulated with the
  next compression.

On the ACTIONS MENU click on the button with the label "Login Next User". This will take you back to the initial login described above.

There is evidence to suggest that it takes 3 to 7 compressions to restore aortic pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure after a pause. In simple terms this means that it takes 3 to 7 compressions to get the blood flowing. Thus the repercussion of performing several poor compressions in a row is much greater than used to be thought. It is now believed to have direct consequences for survival of a victim.

Both the heart and thorax respond to compression rate, compression depth, and chest recoil. In reduced depth and/or reduced rate compressions, the heart and thorax are not pumped sufficiently. Without proper recoil the thorax and heart cannot fill with blood, so the next compression will be less effective and if such ineffective compressions continue in
succession it will lead to loss of aortic pressure.

At the Main Menu select "Compressions" then the the option you want. On SmartMan there are a couple different ways to PRACTICE and take the TEST for compressions.

30 Compressions Current guidelines require that during CPR, you perform 30 compressions and then 2 breaths and repeat 5 times. On SmartMan you can practice this before you take the test. 30 Compressions Practice. In the Practice you perform 30 compressions, then wait for the 4 seconds when breaths would be given and then perform another set of 30 compressions. In the practice you only repeat the 30:2 twice. You can repeat the practice session 3 times.

30 Compressions Test
In the TEST you perform 30 compressions, then wait for the 4 seconds when breaths would be given. Repeat this 5 times.

200 Compressions
Some recent research has suggested that performing chest compressions is more important in the initial stages of onset to a sudden cardiac arrest. Thus some areas are recommending "continuous chest compressions" SmartMan allows you to practice continuous chest compressions.

200 Compressions PRACTICE
In the practice, you perform 200 compressions continuously without stopping. Since it is a practice, you only perform one set.

200 Compressions TEST
In the TEST you perform 200 compressions continuously without stopping, then wait for the 4 seconds when breaths would be given and perform a second set of 200 chest compressions.