The revised recommended ratio is just two breaths per every 30 chest compressions, twice as many compressions as was recommended in the past.
The main motive is to maintain blood flow to the brain and other vital organs.
Dr. Shukri David, chief of cardiology at Providence Hospital of St. John's Health System, in Southfield, Mich. Told Health Day news, "Just doing chest compressions can make a difference."
"When you compress the chest deep enough, you create a vacuum that pulls in air as you release."
However, the technique of rescue breaths should be followed in the case of drowning victims or people who were deprived of oxygen. The new simplified guidelines also include rescue breaths, as well as the rescue breaths-to-chest-compression ratio.
According to the American Heart Association, four out of five heart attacks occur in the home, many of which are witnessed by family members. No progress had been made in the CPR survival rate over the past decade, which allowed for too much time without chest compressions.
Experts believe that health-care professionals weren't providing an adequate number of chest compressions per minute, which could make the difference in survival.
Dr. Michael Sayre, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Ohio State University School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement, "The most common reason that many people die is because none of the people nearby knew CPR, and if they knew it, they didn't do it."
"One of the reasons is that the skill has been too complicated. [The revised] guidelines simplify the instructions and make them easier to remember," he added.
Introduced in late 2005, the revised and simplified guidelines emphasize chest compressions to restore blood flow. It asks rescuers to push hard and push fast and try to maintain a rate of 100 chest compressions per minute.
Also, the chest must be allowed to return to its normal position completely after each compression to allow the heart to fill with blood. And, the guidelines remind rescuers that every interruption in compressions stops the blood flow.
The compression-to-breath ratio is maintained at 30 compressions to two breaths, and each breath should last just one second.
