The History of CPR

When we think of CPR, we rarely think of how it all came to be. Here you will find information dating back to 1740 and the history of CPR.

1740   The Paris Academy of Sciences officially recommended mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims.

1891   Dr. Friedrich Maass performed the first equivocally documented chest compression on humans.

1903   Dr. George Crile reported the first successful use of external chest compressions in human resuscitation.

1957   The United States military adopted the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation method to revive unresponsive victims.

1960   Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was developed. The American Heart Association (AHA) began a program to acquaint physicians with close-chest cardiac resuscitation and became the forerunner of CPR training for the general public.

1963   Cardiologist Leonard Scherlis started the American Heart Association’s CPR Committee, and the same year, the American Heart Association formally endorsed CPR.

1972   Leonard Cobb held the world’s first mass citizen training in CPR in Seattle, Washington called Medic 2.

1981 A program to provide telephone instructions in CPR began in King County, Washington.

1983  AHA convened a national conference on pediatric resuscitation to develop CPR and ECC Guidelines for pediatric and neonatal patients.

1988  AHA introduces first pediatric courses, pediatric BLS, pediatric ALS and neonatal resuscitation, cosponsored with The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

1990s Early Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) programs are developed with the goal in mind to provide training and resources to the public so they are able to aid in the successful resuscitation of sudden cardiac arrest victims.

2004 AHA and ILCOR releases a statement regarding the use of AEDs on children. It is determined that an AED may be used for children 1 to 8 years of age who have no signs of circulation.

2005 AHA developed the Family & Friends® CPR Anytime® kit, a revolutionary product that allows anyone to learn the core skills of CPR in just 20 minutes.

2005 The 2005 International Consensus on ECC and CPR Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) Conference produces the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR & ECC. These Guidelines reveal a new compression: ventilation ratio as well as changes to AED usage.

2008 The AHA releases a statement about Hands-Only™ CPR, saying that bystanders who witness the sudden collapse of an adult should dial 911 and provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the middle of the victim’s chest.

2010 The 2010 International Consensus on ECC and CPR Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) Conference produces the 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR & ECC; 50th Anniversary of CPR.

For a full history of CPR, please click here.