If someone collapses, doesn't respond to your calling and isn't breathing normally, press hard on the chest right away, and have a bystander call 120 (China's ambulance number) and find an AED
- High value
- Evidence A
- Buys life
- Free
- Takes some hours
- No willpower
In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.
In plain words
Cardiac arrest often happens at home, and when someone presses on the chest in time, a higher share of people leave the hospital alive. If the person doesn't respond when you call and isn't breathing normally, start pressing; an occasional gasp does not count as normal breathing. Put your hands one on top of the other and press hard on the chest, and have a bystander call 120 (China's ambulance number) and find an AED (automated external defibrillator).
- Cost
-
Free. A CPR course from the Red Cross (็บขๅๅญไผ) or a hospital takes half a day to a day, and one course lasts for many years. You can do it even if you have never learned: put your hands one on top of the other at the midpoint of the line between the two nipples, and press down hard about 2 times a second, without stopping.
- What you get
-
A meta-analysis (a combined analysis) of 79 studies and 142,740 people: of people whose heart stopped outside a hospital (out-of-hospital cardiac arrest), only 7.6% in total left the hospital alive. Bystander CPR was associated with a higher rate of survival to hospital discharge. Within strata based on each study's original survival rate, survival to discharge for people who received bystander CPR was 3.9% to 16.1%. These two figures come from different strata and can't be read as the change from before to after compressions. In 53% of cases someone was nearby to see the attack, but only 32% actually got chest compressions from a bystander. China's BASIC-OHCA registry recorded 38,227 cases seen by emergency services. Of these, 30,282 (79.2%) had the cardiac arrest at home. In this group the bystander compression rate was 20.3%, and 1.2% left the hospital alive. The order is to press first, then have a second person make the call and get the AED. Once the machine is on, follow its voice instructions. Whether to press depends on whether there is normal breathing. The 2025 first aid guidelines of the International Red Cross state that in the first few minutes after the heart stops, a person may still gasp irregularly and with effort, or gasp loudly. This is not normal breathing. If you can't tell whether it is normal, treat it as not normal. If breathing is not normal, including gasping, irregular breathing and no breathing, start CPR immediately
- Notes
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Children under 1 year old are handled differently and need breaths; see ยง13.44 (CPR for infants). Don't pinch the philtrum first, don't go looking for family first, don't film first. And don't hold back from pressing hard for fear of breaking a rib. Article 184 of the Civil Code (ๆฐๆณๅ ธ) states that if someone voluntarily gives emergency help and injures the person helped, the helper bears no civil liability.
- Evidence grade
- A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.
- Sources
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- Sasson C et al. (2010). Predictors of survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.109.889576
- Zheng J et al. (2023). Incidence, process of care, and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in China: a prospective study of the BASIC-OHCA registry. The Lancet Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00173-1
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2025). International First Aid, Resuscitation and Education Guidelines 2025, page 154: "If the person is breathing abnormally (gasping, taking irregular breaths or not breathing), start CPR immediately"
- Page 161: "In the first few minutes after cardiac arrest, a person may have agonal breathing (an irregular and laboured breathing pattern, or gasping noisily). This type of breathing is not normal. If there is any doubt about whether breathing is normal, assume it is not". https://www.ifrc.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/IFRC%20International%20First%20Aid,%20Resuscitation%20and%20Education%20Guidelines%202025.pdf
- National People's Congress (2020). Civil Code [in Chinese] (Article 184). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
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- Before going down into a septic tank, manhole, sewage pit, vegetable cellar, fermentation tank or similar confined space, ventilate it first, get a passing gas test, and put protection and a watcher in place; if you can't, don't go in. If someone collapses inside, don't follow them down; call 119 (China's fire emergency number) and 120 (China's ambulance number)
- If an older person falls or someone collapses, crouch down, call to them and call 120 (China's ambulance number); don't rush to pull them up. Walking away from a stranger is also legal in China, but if you stop, don't move them
- If someone is electrocuted, cut the power first, then push the source away with a dry wooden stick or similar, and don't pull them with your bare hands
- Shivering, slurred speech and an unsteady walk mean hypothermia: change out of wet clothes, wrap the person up, warm the trunk first, and give hot sweet drinks but no alcohol
- If a baby under 1 year old is unresponsive and not breathing normally, put the phone on speaker and call 120 (China's ambulance number), and give infant CPR: 30 pushes and 2 breaths
- If you have no relatives and no friends, replace โthe person who keeps watch on youโ with three things: a neighbor who can get into your home, the community's visit list, and an emergency contact in your phone
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 1. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer