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by thaumaturgy 1122 days ago
Sort of. CPR classes are divided into, at least, "CPR" and "BLS". Your basic CPR class may be a hands-only training, but the BLS classes still include rescue breathing and AED use, along with infant care.
1 comments

Took a BLS course in the last year in the US (PNW)... they barely covered breathing. I'm not actually sure, from taking it, when I would do breathing. They did a lot on the AED. I should re-watch the video.
Ah. I have a current AHA BLS cert. My understanding is, do breathing if you think there is a clear airway, and you have the appropriate PPE depending on the fluids on/around the person's mouth, and either you are doing compressions because there is no pulse or there is a pulse but the person is not breathing on their own. If you do choose to do rescue breathing, it's important to watch for chest rise to ensure that you're not breathing into their stomach, which is ineffective and will induce vomiting if the person regains consciousness.

There is a decision tree there that some people may be uncomfortable with in an emergency.

I welcome corrections from people with better training than mine.

I renew my AHA BLS cert every other year as a requirement for my EMT certification. You do breathing when you have a second rescuer available to do compressions.
I just did my cert in the PNW this month - there was plenty of time spent on breathing, but also emphasis that doing compressions is the important part. Interestingly, the instructor thought this change was mostly due to amateurs being far less comfortable with giving breaths and being likely to refrain from CPR altogether if they thought it was necessary to do the breathing.

FWIW I have done it by video during covid and in a live class before and after, and I did find it much more engaging and memorable in person. It was surprising to realize that, but simply having the additional sense memories seems to have made a big difference to retaining the information.