When should you stop performing CPR?

When should you stop performing CPR?

• A. After the patient is revived, or the coroner pronounces the patient dead, or you are too tired to continue, or until help arrives
• B. After two minutes regardless of the situation
• C. As soon as the person shows any movement
• D. Only when another rescuer arrives

Answer: (A)

The main idea is knowing when it’s appropriate to stop CPR. CPR is continued until one of four clear outcomes occurs: the person shows signs of recovery, such as breathing normally or regaining a pulse (return of spontaneous circulation or ROSC); a qualified authority, like a coroner or physician, declares the person dead; you become too exhausted to continue safely; or trained responders arrive and take over the resuscitation. Why this matters is that CPR is a temporary measure aimed at maintaining circulation and breathing until the body can recover on its own or until professionals can take over. If the person actually recovers, continuing CPR would no longer be helpful. If a competent authority pronounces death, there’s no medical benefit to continuing. Physical exhaustion is a safety limit; pushing through extreme fatigue can compromise both your safety and the quality of compressions. And when helpers arrive, they’ll assume responsibility for the resuscitation, so you can transfer care. The other ideas don’t fit because they either impose an arbitrary time limit, misinterpret movement as recovery, or rely on someone else arriving as the sole stopping point. Movement alone isn’t enough to stop CPR—you should reassess for adequate breathing and responsiveness. Two minutes isn’t a universal stop rule, and waiting only for another rescuer ignores the possibility of transfer once professionals take over.

The main idea is knowing when it’s appropriate to stop CPR. CPR is continued until one of four clear outcomes occurs: the person shows signs of recovery, such as breathing normally or regaining a pulse (return of spontaneous circulation or ROSC); a qualified authority, like a coroner or physician, declares the person dead; you become too exhausted to continue safely; or trained responders arrive and take over the resuscitation.

Why this matters is that CPR is a temporary measure aimed at maintaining circulation and breathing until the body can recover on its own or until professionals can take over. If the person actually recovers, continuing CPR would no longer be helpful. If a competent authority pronounces death, there’s no medical benefit to continuing. Physical exhaustion is a safety limit; pushing through extreme fatigue can compromise both your safety and the quality of compressions. And when helpers arrive, they’ll assume responsibility for the resuscitation, so you can transfer care.

The other ideas don’t fit because they either impose an arbitrary time limit, misinterpret movement as recovery, or rely on someone else arriving as the sole stopping point. Movement alone isn’t enough to stop CPR—you should reassess for adequate breathing and responsiveness. Two minutes isn’t a universal stop rule, and waiting only for another rescuer ignores the possibility of transfer once professionals take over.