CPR — learn it, practice it, be ready
In a real emergency, call your emergency number FIRST — 911 in the United States — then start.
This app teaches and prepares. It does not certify you. Real CPR certification comes only from a registered provider — the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross — with an in-person, hands-on skills test. Anything this app gives is a Certificate of Completion only.
Three ways to use this app: learn the steps one at a time, practice compressions on the practice dummy with your own fingers at the true rate, and prepare for the real exam with practice questions. Everything stays on your device.
Learn the steps — CPR Training System
Practice dummy — tap the chest, keep the rate
This dummy stands in for a practice manikin. Put two fingers on the marked spot on its chest and tap once for each compression, the way your hands would push. The app counts your taps, measures your rate against the true 100 to 120 pushes a minute, watches your pauses, and coaches you as you go. A round is 2 minutes — the length of one turn pushing in a real rescue, before rescuers swap.
What a phone cannot measure, said plainly: a tap cannot measure how deep your pushes are. On a real chest you push at least 2 inches down and let the chest come fully back up. Here, train the things a tap can teach: a steady right rate, no long pauses, and letting go fully between pushes — tap, release, tap, release.
When you are ready, tap “Start the 2-minute round,” then tap the dummy's chest for each push.
The metronome beats at 110 a minute with a soft tone and, where your device offers it, a short vibration. There is no flashing — the screen stays calm and steady. Following the beat is following the rate.
Prepare for the real exam
These practice questions follow the American Heart Association's teaching. Answer, read why, and go on — this is preparation, so you walk into the real class and the real skills test already knowing the ground.
Cards to carry
CPR — the steps
- Check the scene is safe.
- Tap the shoulder and shout: “Are you OK?”
- No answer, not breathing normally: call 911 (United States) or your emergency number, or send someone. Send for an AED.
- Kneel beside the chest. Bare the chest.
- Heel of one hand in the center of the chest, on the lower half of the breastbone. Other hand on top.
- Push hard and fast — 100 to 120 a minute, at least 2 inches deep, chest fully back up each time.
- 30 pushes, then 2 breaths if you are trained: tilt the head, lift the chin, pinch the nose, seal, about 1 second each, watch the chest rise.
- Keep going, 30 to 2. Untrained or unsure: hands only — push without stopping.
- AED arrives: use it at once (see the AED card), then straight back to pushes.
- Swap pushers about every 2 minutes. Stop only when help takes over, the person breathes normally, or you cannot go on.
AED — the steps
- Turn the AED on. Follow its voice.
- Bare the chest. Dry it if it is wet.
- Put the pads where their pictures show: upper right chest, and the left side below the armpit.
- Plug the pads in if the machine asks.
- “Clear!” — nobody is touching the person.
- Press the shock button if the machine advises a shock.
- Straight back to pushes for 2 minutes. Then the AED checks again — follow its voice.
Free doors beyond this app
Learn and certify: the American Heart Association (cpr.heart.org) and the American Red Cross teach CPR and give the real certification, with an in-person hands-on skills test. Practice free: many libraries lend CPR practice kits, and fire departments, hospitals, the Red Cross, and the AHA hold free practice days. Grants and help: AHA and community grants give free CPR kits and training equipment to schools, churches, and community groups — the Grants app in this Journey walks the applying, step by step.
Practice in this app is preparation only. This app gives a Certificate of Completion only — never CPR certification.