Position the person on the back. Prop up the person's legs about 12 inches (30 centimeters). Loosen belts, collars or other tight clothing. To reduce the chance of fainting again, don't get the person up too fast. If the person doesn't regain consciousness within one minute, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Monitor their vital signs, such as their breathing, until help arrives. If the person deteriorates and becomes unconscious, open their airway, check their breathing and, if necessary, start CPR. Call 999 to tell them you think the person is now in cardiac arrest (their heart has stopped beating).
The seven steps of CPR are as follows: check for Danger, call for help, check the Victim's Airway, give Two Rescue Breaths, perform Chest Compressions, switch Roles with the Compressor (if available), and continue Compressions until Advanced Medical help arrives.
Very occasionally, people collapse without losing consciousness — their muscles just give way. This can happen due to problems with generalised weakness and frailty, a problem with the heart or brain, a seizure or an issue affecting the inner ear. Other, more serious, causes of collapse include: a heart attack.
Bend the top leg so both hip and knee are at right angles. Gently tilt their head back to keep the airway open. If breathing or pulse stops at any time, roll the person onto their back and begin CPR. If you think there is a spinal injury, leave the person where you found them (as long as breathing continues).
The first thing you should do if you find a collapsed victim who is unconscious and not breathing is to call for emergency medical help and send for the nearest defibrillator. If you are on your own (a single rescuer) then you will have to make the emergency call yourself.
The 3 priorities when dealing with a casualty are commonly referred to as ABC, which stands for: Airway. Breathing. Circulation.
Before fainting, you may have sweaty palms, dizziness, lightheadedness, problems seeing, or nausea. In young people, the problem usually has no serious cause, though falls related to fainting can lead to injury. But in some cases, it can be due to an underlying heart problem that is more concerning.
If you see someone collapse suddenly and they are not responsive, you need to CALL-PUSH-SHOCK. This means that you must immediately call 911, begin Hands-Only CPR, and use an AED to restart their heart.
The physicians and scientists at the Sarver Heart Center, have found that the old saying "Never perform CPR on beating heart" is not valid. According to these professionals, the chances that a bystander could harm a person by pressing on their chest are slim to none, even if the heart is working normally.
Download our fact sheet to provide your patients with easy to follow guidance on fainting and collapse. Fainting is when you become unconscious or 'black out' for a brief period. You may collapse to the floor and may have a brief period of twitching while collapsed.
The most common causes of non-ischemic sudden cardiac death are cardiomyopathy related to obesity, alcoholism, and fibrosis. In patients younger than 35, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death is a fatal arrhythmia, usually in the context of a structurally normal heart.
Assess the collapsed person's response to verbal and tactile stimuli ('talk and touch'), ensuring that this does not cause or aggravate any injury. This may include giving a simple command such as, “open your eyes; squeeze my hand; let it go”. Then grasp and squeeze the shoulders firmly to elicit a response.
Raise the patient's legs (unless they have fractures or a snake bite) above the level of the heart, with head flat on the floor. Treat any wound or burn and immobilise fractures. Loosen tight clothing around neck, chest and waist. Maintain the patient's body warmth with a blanket or similar.
1. CHECK! Shake the person and shout, “Are you OK?” If the person is unresponsive and not breathing, or breathing abnormally (struggling to breathe, gasping or snoring), direct someone to CALL 9-1-1 or make the call yourself.
Check if it is safe to approach the victim; watch for road hazards, etc. Tell someone to get an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). If possible carefully lay the victim flat on a hard surface like the ground. Check for breathing: Look for chest movement, listen for breath sounds and feel for breathing movements.
lightheadedness. sweating. changes to your breathing, such as breathing faster and deeply.
Features suggestive of uncomplicated faint include: posture (prolonged standing or similar episodes that have been prevented by lying down); provoking factors (such as pain or a medical procedure); and. prodromal symptoms (such as sweating or feeling warm/hot before TLoC).