What does basic life support include?

What Basic Life Support means

Basic Life Support (BLS) is the set of actions that keep a person's blood circulating and oxygenated until specialist medical help arrives. It requires no drugs or medical equipment — only your hands and, where available, an automated external defibrillator.

This guide describes the steps in general terms. It does not replace practical training: correct technique can only be learned through practice under an instructor's guidance.

1. Safety and assessment

Before approaching, make sure the area is safe for you and the casualty — traffic, electricity, fire. Then check whether the person responds: speak loudly and gently shake their shoulders.

If they do not respond, open the airway with a head tilt and chin lift and check for normal breathing for up to 10 seconds. Occasional, gasping breaths are not normal.

2. Call for help

If the person is not breathing normally, call 166 (EKAB, the Greek ambulance service) or 112 immediately — ideally on speakerphone, so you can follow the dispatcher's instructions. Ask a bystander to bring a defibrillator if one is nearby.

3. Chest compressions

Place the heel of your hand in the centre of the chest, your other hand on top, and press with straight arms. For adults, guidelines recommend a depth of about 5–6 cm and a rate of 100–120 compressions per minute, letting the chest fully recoil between compressions.

If you are trained, alternate 30 compressions with 2 rescue breaths. If you are not trained or cannot give breaths, continue with continuous compressions only.

4. Defibrillator (AED)

As soon as the defibrillator arrives, switch it on and follow the voice prompts. The device analyses the heart rhythm and delivers a shock only when needed. Keep interruptions to compressions as short as possible.

5. Choking and recovery position

Basic Life Support also includes:

• Managing airway obstruction (choking) with back blows and abdominal thrusts (Heimlich manoeuvre)
• Placing a person who is breathing but not fully conscious in the recovery position
• Continuous monitoring until the ambulance arrives