A patient has no pulse. To restore circulation, you should use:

The choice of using artificial breathing with chest compressions is critical when a patient has no pulse, as it aligns with the protocols for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). When a person is unresponsive and lacks a pulse, it indicates that the heart is not effectively pumping blood, which poses an immediate threat to life due to the lack of oxygen being delivered to vital organs.

Implementing chest compressions helps to manually circulate blood throughout the body, providing vital organs with some degree of oxygenation even when the heart is not functioning. Combining this with artificial breathing contributes to restoring oxygen levels in the bloodstream, which is essential for survival until advanced medical help can take over.

This approach is recognized as a lifesaving measure in emergency situations and is a fundamental skill for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and other healthcare providers to master. It's important to remember that while techniques like the Heimlich maneuver and finger sweeps serve specific purposes (relieving choking or clearing the airway), they are not appropriate for scenarios where a patient's heart has stopped beating. Similarly, mouth-to-mouth breathing alone is insufficient without chest compressions in the presence of a cardiac arrest. Therefore, the combination of artificial breathing and chest compressions is the correct response to restore circulation effectively