How to Perform Chest Compressions During Cardiac Arrest

John D. Anastasio, DVM, DACVECC, medical director of emergency and critical care at VRC Specialty Hospital in Malvern, Pennsylvania, says having a functional knowledge of how to perform CPR is an important part of being a pet owner.

Dr. Anastasio says the best chance for pets to survive cardiopulmonary arrest is early initiation of chest compressions. In the event of a cardiopulmonary arrest, pet owners should be pressing over the chest, compressing at about one-third of the chest's diameter, allowing for full recoil at a rate of about 120 compressions per minute.