Why perform artificial respiration?

Artificial respiration is performed to maintain pulmonary ventilation, ensure oxygen supply, remove carbon dioxide from the body, sustain vital signs, and improve the success rate of resuscitation. It is a critical emergency measure when someone experiences cardiac or respiratory arrest. If you encounter a person whose heart or breathing has stopped, it is recommended to immediately call emergency services and seek professional medical assistance while performing artificial respiration.

1. Maintain Pulmonary Ventilation: When a patient's spontaneous breathing stops, artificial respiration uses external force to deliver air into the lungs, replacing the function of spontaneous breathing. This maintains gas exchange between the lungs and the outside environment and prevents alveolar collapse.

2. Ensure Oxygen Supply: Brain tissue may suffer irreversible damage if deprived of oxygen for more than 4–6 minutes. Artificial respiration continuously supplies oxygen to the bloodstream, meeting the oxygen demands of vital organs such as the heart and brain, thereby delaying tissue necrosis.

3. Remove Carbon Dioxide from the Body: While delivering air, artificial respiration helps eliminate accumulated carbon dioxide from the patient’s body, preventing acid-base imbalances caused by hypercapnia and reducing metabolic stress.

4. Sustain Vital Signs: Effective artificial respiration combined with chest compressions can temporarily maintain circulation and stabilize vital signs, buying valuable time for advanced medical interventions and treatment.

5. Improve Resuscitation Success Rate: Timely and properly performed artificial respiration following cardiac or respiratory arrest increases the success rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), reduces the risk of complications, and is an indispensable component of on-site emergency care.

Before initiating artificial respiration, check the patient's consciousness and breathing, clear any oral or nasal secretions to ensure an open airway; during ventilation, pinch the patient’s nostrils closed, seal your mouth over theirs, and deliver breaths slowly. Coordinate chest compressions and rescue breaths in the appropriate ratio, ensuring correct technique to avoid ineffective or haphazard efforts.