European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2005 - Section 2. Adult basic life support and use of automated external defibrillators

Basic life support (BLS) refers to maintaining airway patency and supporting breathing and the circulation, without the use of equipment other than a protective device.(1) This section contains the guidelines for adult BLS by lay rescuers and for the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). It also includes recognition of sudden cardiac arrest, the recovery position and management of choking (foreign-body airway obstruction). Guidelines for in-hospital BLS and the use of manual defibrillators may be found in Sections 3 and 4b.