Artie Beat s Lifesavers Helping to save lives 999 fight for every heartbeat bhf.org.uk
If you see someone who is badly hurt would you know how to help them? This booklet tells you what to do. Find out what to do if someone: is bleeding a lot is choking has pains in their chest is unconscious
Bleeding Do this when someone is bleeding a lot. Tell them to sit down, or if they are dizzy, tell them to lie down Try and see where the blood is coming from 3 4 it If there is nothing sticking out, press down on the cut with a clean towel or something similar. Ask the person to hold down if they can If the cut is on an arm or leg, help stop the bleeding by lifting that part up high 6 If the bleeding won t stop, and you haven t already phoned 999, ask someone to go and phone for an ambulance. If there s no one to help, you will need to make the phone call 7 If it was you who phoned 999, go straight back to the person who is bleeding. Keep them warm with your coat or a blanket. Keep talking to them until the ambulance arrives If the cut has something in it like a piece of glass, don t pull it out. Squeeze the sides of the cut together instead. Make sure you don t get hurt too! Here s what Beatrice did... Beatrice s mum was making a salad when she cut her hand very badly. There was a lot of blood and she said she felt dizzy. Beatrice got her mum to lie down and hold her hand up in the air. She pressed clean tea-towels onto the cut and asked her mum to hold them while she phoned 999 and asked for an ambulance. While they waited for an ambulance she put a blanket over her mum and chatted to her to keep her calm. 3
Choking Do this when someone has something stuck in their throat. 4 If they can t answer and don t cough, slap the top part of their back times. After each slap, check to see if they can now breathe Here s what Hannah did... Hannah was in the school playground when Aamir started choking on a piece of apple. Hannah asked him to cough but he couldn t. She told her friend to get a teacher and then she did the back slaps. They didn t work so she did the tummy thrusts on Aamir. The apple came out and Aamir felt better. But a teacher still took him to hospital just to make sure. 3 4 If they are still choking, and no one has phoned an ambulance yet, phone 999. If the person seems to be asleep and you can t wake them up they need CPR. CPR is a kind of pushing on the chest. If you know how to do CPR, start straight away If they are still choking, you If they can t stand, 6 need to do tummy thrusts. Even if the person has help them to lie down Here s how: stopped choking after the tummy thrusts they - Stand behind the person must go to hospital to and put your arms around Ask the person check that they are okay What to look out for: their tummy just above can you cough? When a person gets something their belly button stuck in their throat we call - Make a fist with one hand Never do tummy thrusts on a baby, it choking. They might not and grab it with the other only do back slaps. You can t do tummy be able to speak, cough or thrusts on someone who is under. - Push your fist hard into breathe. Sometimes when people are choking they their tummy in an upwards Don t do the back slaps or the tummy thrusts go a bit blue. They might direction unless someone is actually choking. It can be dangerous to do this to someone if they hold their neck or point After each tummy thrust, don t need you to. to their throat. check to see if the person can breathe again 4
Pain in the chest Do this when someone has a bad pain in their chest. What to look out for: When a grown-up gets pain in their chest, they might be having a heart attack. Other things you might notice about someone having a heart attack are that they seem out of breath, pale and sweaty. They might say that they feel sick or dizzy, and they may feel a numbness or pain in their arms, neck or jaw. 6 Go and get a grown-up if there is one around Get the person to sit down so they are more comfortable 3 Don t If no one has phoned for an ambulance yet, get someone to phone 999 and say that there s a person who might be having a heart attack. If there is no one to help you, you will need to phone 999 yourself. Always call for a grown-up if there is one around and never do anything that could put you in danger or could hurt you Here s what Niah did... Niah and his mum were at his Grandma s. Grandma said she felt really ill and like her chest was being squashed. Niah said she should sit down against the wall. Then he told his mum to phone 999 and say that his Grandma might be having a heart attack. Niah sat near her and told her everything would be okay. The ambulance came quickly and after a short stay in hospital Niah s Grandma started to feel better. give them anything to eat 4or drink Stay with them until the ambulance arrives and tell them not to worry. If they fall asleep and won t wake up, put them in the recovery position. If they stop breathing normally they need something called CPR a kind of pushing on their chest. If you know how to do CPR, start straight away A heart attack and cardiac arrest are not the same thing. A heart attack is when part of the heart muscle is not getting enough blood. A cardiac arrest is different. It s when the heart suddenly stops working. People whose heart has stopped working need someone to do CPR a kind of pushing on their chest. This keeps their heart pumping until an ambulance arrives. If you know how to do CPR, start straight away. Find out more on the recovery position on page 6 7
Unconscious Do this when someone won t wake up. What to look out for: When someone won t wake up even if you shake them or shout. This is called being unconscious say un-con-shus. Now try and roll the person so they are lying on their back 3 Put one hand on the person s forehead and with the other hand, put your fingers on their chin. Tip their head back to stop their tongue blocking their airway 4 Watch and listen carefully. Is their chest rising and falling? Are they breathing? Shake the person and loudly ask if they re okay. If the person doesn t wake up, shout for help If they are breathing normally follow the steps on the next page to put them in the recovery position 8 9 8
Recovery position Do this when you have checked someone is breathing but they won t wake up. their Bring the other arm across their body and hold the back of their hand against cheek 3 Bend the leg that s furthest away from you and pull it up 4 Now roll the person towards you checked Gently push their head back again like you did when you they were breathing Put the person s arm that is nearest to you up like they are waving 6If no one has already phoned 999, then you need to. Ask for an ambulance and tell them the person won t wake up 0 0
The Artie Beat club Artie Beat is a heart health superhero who helps children take care of their hearts. With his friends, he teaches children all about eating healthily and staying active to keep their hearts strong. Children under can join the Artie Beat club for free and receive a joining pack and four exciting newsletters a year. Go to www.cbhf.net to find out more. Nation of Lifesavers When someone has a cardiac arrest, it means that their heart stops working. They need someone to do a special pushing on their chest to keep them alive until the ambulance comes. This pushing on the chest is called CPR. The BHF is creating a Nation of Lifesavers by making CPR training available through secondary schools, community groups and workplaces. We will train as many people as possible so that if a person has a cardiac arrest, someone nearby will know how to help save their life. The CPR training kit is called Call Push Rescue. It s suitable for students years old and over. To find out more about how your school can get involved, or how you can get trained in CPR go to bhf.org.uk/cpr
Coronary heart disease is the UK s single biggest killer. For over 0 years we ve pioneered research that s transformed the lives of people living with heart and circulatory conditions. Our work has been central to the discoveries of vital treatments that are changing the fight against heart disease. But so many people still need our help. From babies born with life-threatening heart problems to the many mums, dads and grandparents who survive a heart attack and endure the daily battles of heart failure. Join our fight for every heartbeat in the UK. Every pound raised, minute of your time and donation to our shops will help make a difference to people s lives. fight for every heartbeat bhf.org.uk British Heart Foundation 04, registered charity in England and Wales (97) and in Scotland (SC03946) Print code: AC6