Recognising Collapse and Starting BLS

Recognition of cardiac arrest is deliberately simple. If someone is unresponsive and breathing is absent or abnormal, treat this as cardiac arrest. Slow, laboured, gasping, panting, or seizure-like movements early after collapse can be misleading, so do not wait for certainty.

The first checks

• Danger: make sure you, the patient, and others are safe.
• Response: speak loudly and gently shake the shoulders if appropriate.
• Airway: open the airway using head tilt and chin lift unless injury concerns require a different approach.
• Breathing: look, listen, and feel for normal breathing for no more than 10 seconds.
• Help: call 999 on speaker and send someone for the AED.

Dental surgeries are often cramped and the dental chair is not always an ideal surface for CPR. Start compressions where the patient is if moving them would delay CPR. RCUK states chest compressions can be effective in a fully reclined dental chair; local training should cover how your practice manages space, chair position, and access.

Faint, seizure, and cardiac arrest

If the patient is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 999, get the AED, and start CPR. Uncertainty should not become delay.