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Checking Responsiveness

Checking responsiveness is how you determine whether a collapsed or motionless person needs immediate life-saving intervention. Tap the person's shoulders firmly and shout a question such as 'Are you okay?', then look for any response — eye opening, speech, purposeful movement — while also checking for normal breathing. An unresponsive person who is not breathing normally is treated as being in cardiac arrest. Any unresponsive person means calling emergency services immediately, before or while doing anything else.