A 50 year old male is apneic and unresponsive. What should you do?

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Multiple Choice

A 50 year old male is apneic and unresponsive. What should you do?

In this situation, the priority is to determine whether there is circulation before deciding how to ventilate or compress. The quickest way to assess this in an unresponsive, apneic adult is to palpate a carotid pulse for about 5–10 seconds. If a carotid pulse is not felt, you should begin CPR immediately (chest compressions without delay, and call for help and an AED as soon as possible). If a pulse is present but the person is not breathing, provide rescue breaths at a rate of about one every 5–6 seconds. Naloxone isn’t the immediate action here because the first step is to assess circulation; you would consider naloxone later only if an opioid overdose is suspected based on history or symptoms. Checking blood pressure isn’t reliably informative in the first moments of a cardiac-arrest scenario.

In this situation, the priority is to determine whether there is circulation before deciding how to ventilate or compress. The quickest way to assess this in an unresponsive, apneic adult is to palpate a carotid pulse for about 5–10 seconds.

If a carotid pulse is not felt, you should begin CPR immediately (chest compressions without delay, and call for help and an AED as soon as possible). If a pulse is present but the person is not breathing, provide rescue breaths at a rate of about one every 5–6 seconds.

Naloxone isn’t the immediate action here because the first step is to assess circulation; you would consider naloxone later only if an opioid overdose is suspected based on history or symptoms. Checking blood pressure isn’t reliably informative in the first moments of a cardiac-arrest scenario.

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