Welcome to the overview on Basic Life Support. In this video, we will briefly discuss Basic Life Support, or BLS, and its importance during PALS.

BLS is the life support method used when there is limited access to advanced interventions such as medications and monitoring devices. In general, BLS is performed until the emergency medical services, or EMS arrives to provide a higher level of care.

BLS utilizes CPR and cardiac defibrillation when a defibrillator is available. In every setting, high-quality CPR gives the child or the infant the greatest chance of survival by providing circulation to the heart, brain, and other organs until return of spontaneous circulation.

The PALS handbook and its corresponding videos only briefly describe BLS. All PALS providers are assumed to be able to perform BLS appropriately.

This concludes the overview on Basic Life Support. Next, we will review One-Rescuer BLS for Children.

Welcome to the lesson on One-Rescuer BLS in Children. In this video, we will discuss step-by-step procedure for providing BLS in Children with one rescuer.

If you are alone with a child in a life-threatening situation, first tap their shoulders and talk loudly to them to determine if they are responsive.

Then, assess their breathing.

If the child does not respond and is not breathing (or is only gasping for air), then yell for help. If someone responds, send them to call 911 and get an AED (if you are not in a health care facility), or activate emergency response system and get a defibrillator (if you are in a health care facility).

Feel for the child’s carotid pulse on the side of their neck or femoral pulse on the inner thigh in the crease between their leg and groin. Feel for at least 5 seconds but no more than 10 seconds.

If you cannot feel a pulse, or if you are unsure that you feel a pulse, begin CPR by doing 30 compressions followed by two breaths. If you can feel a pulse but the pulse rate is less than 60 beats per minute, begin CPR. This rate is too slow for a child.

After doing CPR for about two minutes, which is usually five cycles of 30 compressions and two breaths, and if help has not arrived, call EMS while staying with the child. The AHA emphasizes to use speaker-equipped cell phones that are available everywhere now.

Get an AED or a defibrillator if you know where one is. Use and follow the prompts on the AED or the defibrillator while continuing CPR until EMS arrives or until child’s condition normalizes.

This concludes our lesson on One-Rescuer BLS in Children. Next, we will review Two-Rescuer BLS in Children.

Welcome to the lesson on Two-Rescuer BLS in Children. In this video, we will discuss step-by-step procedure for providing BLS in Children with two rescuers.

If you are not alone with a child, first tap their shoulders and talk loudly to them to determine if they are responsive.

Then, assess their breathing.

If the child does not respond and is not breathing (or is only gasping for air), then send the second rescuer to call 911 and get an AED (if you are not in a healthcare facility), or activate emergency response system and get a defibrillator (if you are in a healthcare facility).

Feel for the child’s carotid pulse on the side of their neck or femoral pulse on the inner thigh in the crease between their leg and groin. Feel for at least 5 seconds but no more than 10 seconds.

If you cannot feel a pulse, or if you are unsure that you feel a pulse, begin CPR by doing 30 compressions followed by two breaths. If you can feel a pulse but the pulse rate is less than 60 beats per minute, begin CPR. This rate is too slow for a child.

When the second rescuer returns, begin CPR by performing 15 compressions yourself and two breaths by the second rescuer.

Use and follow the prompts on the AED or the defibrillator while continuing CPR until EMS arrives or until child’s condition normalizes.

This concludes our lesson on Two-Rescuer BLS in Children. Next, we will review One-Rescuer BLS in Infants.

Welcome to the lesson on One-Rescuer BLS in Infants. In this video, we will discuss step-by-step procedure for providing BLS in infants with one rescuer.

If you are alone with an infant, tap their shoulders and talk loudly to them to determine if they are responsive.

Then, assess their breathing.

If the infant does not respond and is not breathing (or is only gasping for air), then yell for help. If someone responds, send them to call 911 and get an AED (if you are not in a health care facility), or activate emergency response system and get a defibrillator (if you are in a health care facility).

Feel for the infant’s brachial pulse for at least 5 seconds but no more than 10 seconds.

If you cannot feel a pulse, or if you are unsure that you feel a pulse, begin CPR by doing 30 compressions followed by two breaths. If you can feel a pulse but the pulse rate is less than 60 beats per minute, begin CPR. This rate is too slow for a child.

To perform CPR on an infant, make sure the infant is face-up on a hard surface. Using two fingers, perform chest compressions in the center of the infant’s chest. Be sure not to press on the end of the sternum as this can cause injury to the infant. (Compression depth should be 1.5 inches, that is 4 cm, and the compression rate should be at least 100 to 120 per minute.)

After doing CPR for about two minutes, which is usually five cycles of 30 compressions and two breaths, if help has not arrived, activate emergency response system while staying with the infant. The AHA emphasizes to use speaker-equipped cell phones that are available everywhere now.

Get an AED or defibrillator if you know where one is. Use the AED or the defibrillator while continuing CPR until more help arrives or until infant’s condition normalizes.

This concludes our lesson on One-Rescuer BLS in Infants. Next, we will review Two-Rescuer BLS in Infants.

Welcome to the lesson on Two-Rescuer BLS in Infants. In this video, we will discuss step-by-step procedure for providing BLS in Infants with two rescuers.

If you are not alone with an infant, first tap their shoulders and talk loudly to them to determine if they are responsive.

Then, assess their breathing.

If the infant does not respond and is not breathing (or is only gasping for air), then send the second rescuer to call 911 and get an AED (if you are not in a health care facility), or activate emergency response system and get a defibrillator (if you are in a health care facility).

Feel for the infant’s brachial pulse for at least 5 seconds but no more than 10 seconds.

If you cannot feel a pulse, or if you are unsure that you feel a pulse, begin CPR by doing 30 compressions followed by two breaths. If you can feel a pulse but the pulse rate is less than 60 beats per minute, begin CPR. This rate is too slow for an infant.

When the second rescuer returns, begin CPR by performing 15 compressions yourself and two breaths by the second rescuer. Give compressions using the two-thumb encircling hands method. Be sure not to press on the end of the sternum as this can cause injury to the infant. (Compression depth should be 1.5 inches, that is 4 cm, and the compression rate should be at least 100 to 120 per minute.)

Use AED or the defibrillator while continuing CPR until further help arrives or until infant’s condition normalizes.

This concludes our lesson on Two-Rescuer BLS in Infants. Next, we will review Normal Heart Anatomy for PALS.