Welcome to the American Heart Association Basic Life Support test answers page.
This page is specifically designed to provide an in-depth review of the correct responses for the AHA-BLS examination. Whether you’ve just completed the test or are preparing to take it, reviewing the correct answers can strengthen your understanding of BLS principles, procedures, and practices.
Here, you’ll find answers for each response, offering invaluable insights into the reasoning behind every correct answer. This will not only aid in your comprehension of the material but will also allow you to apply these life-saving techniques effectively in real-world situations.
American Heart Association Basic Life Support Answers
| Situation/Question | Action/Answer |
|---|---|
| When you first see a potential victim. | When do you ensure a scene is safe? |
| A victim who is unresponsive, not breathing and has no pulse. | Which victim requires CPR? |
| Head tilt-chin lift | This is the best method to open an airway of an unresponsive victim with no suspected neck injury. |
| 10 seconds | The maximum time you check for a pulse. |
| Bag-mask device | A device used for a 2-person rescue to provide breaths during CPR. |
| 2 inches (5cm) | The recommended depth of chest compressions for an adult victim. |
| Give breaths without chest compressions. | When a child has a pulse of more than 60/min but is not breathing, what should you do? |
| 30:2 | The compression-ventilation ratio for 1-rescuer adult CPR. |
| Creates blood flow | Why is important to compress to the appropriate depth during CPR? |
| 100 compressions per minute | The rate for performing chest compressions for ALL victims. |
| Minimizes air from entering the victim’s stomach (gastric inflation) | Why do you give a breath just until you see the chest rise? |
| True | Adult pads/dose may be used if pediatric pads/dose are not available when using an AED for a child less than 8 years old. (T or F) |
| 100 compressions per minute; 1 breath every 6-8 seconds. | What are the compression and ventilation rates for 2-rescuer CPR when an advanced airway is present with an adult victim? |
| Maintain an open airway and give breaths. | What is the role of the second rescuer? |
| Turn it ON | What is the first thing to do when the AED arrives? |
| The lower half of the breastbone. | Where do you place your hands for chest compressions on an adult? |
| Immediately start CPR, beginning with compressions | What should you do after the AED delivers a shock? |
| Start CPR, beginning with compressions. | If a victim of foreign-body airway obstruction becomes unresponsive, what is the next step? |
| 15:2 | Compression-ventilation ratio for 2-rescuer child CPR. |
| Give breaths at a rate of 1 breath every 3-5 seconds | When a child is not breathing, but has a pulse how do you give breaths with a bag-mask device? |
| 1.5inches (4cm) | The recommended depth of compressions for an infant. |
| Visible rise of the chest with each rescue breath | What should you look for to determine if rescue breaths are effective in an infant victim? |
| 15:2 | A victim who is unresponsive, not breathing, and has no pulse. |
| 2 thumb-encircling hands technique | The preferred technique for infant chest compressions with 2 rescuers. |
| Cycles of 5 back slaps, followed by 5 chest thrusts. | The compression-ventilation ratio for 2-rescuer infant CPR. |
| For which of the following would it be appropriate to move an adult victim who might need CPR? | When the adult victim is in a dangerous environment |
| Several colleagues are nearby. After determining that the scene is safe, you assess the victim for responsiveness and breathing. There is no response when you gently tap and speak to the victim. You note that he is not breathing. The next thing you need to do is | Send someone to activate the emergency response system and get the AED. |
| Which of the following victims needs CPR? | A victim who is unresponsive with no breathing (or no normal breathing) and no pulse |
| After you send someone to activate the emergency response system and get an AED, you and 2 other colleagues lower the victim gently to the floor. You would then | Check for a pulse. |
| The proper location to check for a pulse in an adult victim is at the | carotid artery of the neck. |
| The victim has no pulse. You begin CPR at a compression rate of | at least 100 per minute and a compressions-to-breaths ratio of 30:2. |
| The recommended depth of chest compressions for an adult victim is at least | 2 inches (5 cm). |
| Why is it important to compress to the appropriate depth during CPR? | Adequate depth of compression is needed to create blood flow during compressions. |
| Complete chest recoil contributes to CPR success by | allowing the heart to refill with blood between compressions. |
| While you provide compressions and count aloud, a colleague is giving breaths. To open the airway for this victim, your colleague will use the | head tilt-chin lift technique. |
| To reduce rescuer fatigue during team CPR, compressor roles should be switched about every | 5 cycles. |
| You and several colleagues are with an adult male victim who collapsed while entering the hospital. He is unresponsive, is not breathing, and has no pulse. You and a colleague perform 2-rescuer CPR until another colleague arrives with an AED. She kneels at the victim’s side, places the AED next to the victim, and opens the case. What should she do next? | Turn on the AED |
| The AED analyzes the victim’s cardiac rhythm and reports “No shock advised.” The victim is still unresponsive and not breathing. Next, you should | resume CPR, beginning with chest compressions. |
| After 2 minutes of CPR, the AED prompts you to analyze again. The next step is to | confirm that no one is touching the victim, allow the AED to analyze, and deliver a shock if prompted by the AED. |
| This time, the AED advises you to shock the victim. After you clear the victim and deliver the shock, you should | immediately restart CPR, beginning with chest compressions |
| You see a 6 year old boy collapse. The child has no pulse. You should now | begin cycles of chest compressions and breaths at a ratio of 30:2. |
| The recommended depth of compressions for a child is | at least one third the depth of the chest, or approximately 2 inches. |
| The proper location to perform a pulse check for a child is | at the carotid artery of the neck or the femoral artery of the leg. |
| Your colleague arrives with the AED, and a third rescuer arrives with a bag and mask. The colleague managing the AED opens the device and begins taking out the pads. The third rescuer uses the bag and mask, and you and your colleague begin 2-rescuer child CPR with the correct compressions-to-breaths ratio of | 15:2 |
| Your colleague finds that there are only standard adult pads in the AED case. He should | use the standard adult pads. |
| In 2-rescuer CPR for an adult or child 8 years of age or older, the first rescuer begins chest compressions while the second rescuer | maintains an open airway and gives breaths. |
| You and your colleague perform the next steps of BLS for an infant in the correct order by | checking for both responsiveness and breathing, and then sending the colleague to activate the emergency response system and get the AED while you check for a brachial pulse and start CPR if there is no pulse. |
| Where should a rescuer attempt to locate the brachial pulse in an infant? | Inside the upper arm, between the elbow and shoulder |
| There is no pulse, and your colleague has not returned with the AED. You begin chest compressions. As a lone rescuer, you start chest compressions by using the 2-finger technique, providing | 30 compressions, just below the nipple line, at a rate of at least 100 compressions per minute, with a compressions-to-breaths ratio of 30:2. |
| More colleagues arrive at the scene, bringing the AED. You and a colleague are now ready to begin 2-rescuer CPR while the pads are being placed. Which of the following is the preferred chest compression technique for 2-rescuer CPR in an infant? | 2 thumb-encircling hands |
| To perform the 2 thumb-encircling hands technique, you wrap your fingers around the infant’s chest, and place your thumbs | on the lower half of the breastbone. |
| The recommended depth of chest compressions for an infant is | at least one third the depth of the chest, approximately 1.5 inches (4 cm). |
| Which of the following correctly compares characteristics of chest compressions in adults with those in infants and children? | Compression depth: for adults, at least 2 inches; for infants/children, at least one third the depth of the chest |
| You and your partner know the rescue breaths he is delivering for the infant victim are effective when | the chest rises visibly. |
| You and your partner provide 2-rescuer CPR for the infant, using a ratio of | 15:2. |
| You are working at your desk when you hear the receptionist call for help. You enter the waiting room to find a 63-year-old man slumped in a chair. When should you ensure that the scene is safe? | When you first see the potential victim |
| The scene is safe. You would next | check for a response (gently tap the victim and ask, “Are you all right?”) and check for breathing. |
| The victim does not answer or respond in any way and is not breathing. You would next | activate the emergency response system and get the AED (you can send someone to do these things). |
| After you identify an unresponsive victim with no breathing (or no normal breathing) and no pulse, chest compressions should be initiated within | 10 seconds. |
| After activating the emergency response system and sending someone to get the AED, you should | check for a carotid pulse. |
| The victim has a pulse. The emergency resuscitation cart (crash cart) arrives. Your next step should be to | open his airway by using the head tilt-chin lift technique. |
| You open the airway by using the head tilt-chin lift technique. You would now | give 1 breath every 5-6 seconds by using a bag and mask. |
| Which of the following correctly states the proper technique for delivering mouth-to-mouth breaths? | The rescuer opens the airway, seals his or her mouth over the victim’s mouth, pinches the victim’s nose closed, and gives each breath for about 1 second each while watching for the chest to rise. |
| Gastric inflation is more likely to occur if the rescuer | gives breaths too quickly or with too much force. |
| You are performing rescue breathing for a victim who is not breathing but has a pulse. Your initial rescue breaths did not go in. You should | reopen the airway with the head tilt-chin lift technique and attempt an additional breath. |
| What is the best way for a rescuer to know that a rescue breath for an adult victim is effective? | The chest rises visibly. |
| You are able to give breaths that produce visible chest rise for the victim of respiratory arrest (not breathing but with a pulse). Your next step is to | continue rescue breathing, checking the pulse about every 2 minutes. |
| After you perform several minutes of rescue breaths and checking for a pulse, additional help and equipment, including advanced airway management, arrives. You determine that the victim no longer has a pulse and the rescuers need to begin CPR with an advanced airway in place. Which of the following options lists the correct rates for compressions-to-breaths for 2-rescuer CPR in the presence of an advanced airway? | Compress at a rate of at least 100 per minute, 1 breath every 6 to 8 seconds. |
| As you enter the room, the child collapses. When you examine the child, you find her very limp, pale, unresponsive, and not breathing. The scene is safe, and you send your assistant to activate the emergency response system and get the AED and emergency equipment while you | check for a pulse for no more than 10 seconds. |
| The child has a pulse and a heart rate of 64/min. Your next step is to | give breaths without chest compressions. |
| When administering breaths by using a bag-mask device for a child who is not breathing but does have a pulse, the rescuer should | give breaths at a rate of 1 breath every 3 to 5 seconds. |
| The volume provided with each breath should be | enough to cause visible chest rise. |
| During bag-mask ventilation, which of the following is recommended to minimize the risk of gastric inflation? | Give a breath with only the force and volume needed to see the chest rise. |
| Each rescue breath should be delivered over a period of | 1 second. |
| If an unresponsive infant is not breathing and has a heart rate of 53 beats per minute and signs of poor perfusion despite oxygenation and ventilation with a bag and mask, which of the following should you perform? | Both chest compressions and breaths |
| If an adult is eating and suddenly coughs and cannot breathe, talk, or make any sounds, you should ask the adult if she is choking. If she nods “yes,” tell her you are going to help and give abdominal thrusts. | True |
| Which of the following are signs of a severe block in the airway in an adult or child who is responding? | No coughing, not able to talk |
| What is the best way to relieve severe choking in a responsive adult? | Perform abdominal thrusts |
| A choking adult becomes unresponsive while you are doing abdominal thrusts for severe choking. You ease the victim to the floor and send someone to activate your emergency response system. What should you do next? | Begin CPR without a pulse check. When you open the airway, look for and remove the object (if seen) before giving rescue breaths. |
| What is the best action to relieve severe choking in a responsive infant? | Begin cycles of up to 5 back slaps and up to 5 chest thrusts. |
You’ve now reached the end of the American Heart Association Basic Life Support Test Answers page. By reviewing these correct answers, you’ve reinforced your grasp of key BLS concepts and practices, bringing you one step closer to excelling in the AHA-BLS examination and in your role as a healthcare provider.
Remember, understanding the ‘why’ behind each answer is just as crucial as knowing the correct response. Each piece of information, and each technique learned, contributes to your ability to save lives in emergency situations.
Thank you for your dedication and commitment to providing the highest quality of care to those in need. Keep revisiting this page for reinforcement, and continue practicing your skills. Good luck with your ongoing journey in Basic Life Support.
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