From choking response to naloxone use: What’s new in CPR guidelines

For the first time since 2020, the American Heart Association has updated its CPR guidelines, introducing several key changes.

The new guidance includes updated recommendations for responding to choking incidents, opioid overdoses and cardiac arrest.

Previously, there was no specific guidance for helping an adult who is choking. Past recommendations for choking children called for abdominal thrusts only. The 2025 update now advises alternating five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until the object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive — for both conscious adults and children.

The guidelines also provide detailed, step-by-step instructions for administering naloxone to someone suffering an opioid overdose.

Another change unifies the “chain of survival” for all cardiac arr