Someone Who Is Unresponsive & Not Breathing

If someone is not moving and does not respond when you call them or gently shake their shoulders, they are unresponsive.

1. Check breathing by tilting their head back and looking and feeling for breaths.

When a person is unresponsive, their muscles relax and their tongue can block their airway so they can no longer breathe. Tilting their head back opens the airway by pulling the tongue forward.

If they are not breathing, their chest and stomach will not be moving and you will not hear or feel their breaths. If they are not breathing, move on to step two.

2. Call 999 as soon as possible.

If you can’t call 999, get someone else to do it.

3. Give chest compressions: push firmly downwards in the middle of the chest and then release.

Continue to push in this way at a regular rate until help arrives. These are called chest compressions. Chest compressions keep blood pumping around their body helping to keep the vital organs, including the brain, alive.

Common questions about first aid for someone who is unresponsive and not breathing

How long should I do chest compressions for?

Keep going until help arrives. If there is someone else who can help, change over every minute or two. Try to keep doing chest compressions with as little interruption as possible when you change over.

If I press too hard during chest compressions, could I break their ribs?

You might, but try not to worry. Your priority is to keep the blood circulating. A damaged rib will mend, but if you don’t do chest compressions their chances of survival are much lower.

Will I restart the heart if I give chest compressions?

The chance of restarting the heart by chest compressions alone is very small. Usually, a heart needs an electric shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart.

Chest compressions pump a small amount of blood around the body to keep the organs alive, most importantly the brain. Don’t give up even if you do not see any change in the person’s condition. Chest compressions significantly increase the chance of the person surviving.

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