(AKA: Chest Compressions)/Rescue Breathing (AKA: Artificial Respiration) Also abbreviated as CPR. A life-saving first aid procedure of chest compressions given to patients who is in cardiac arrest. This medical process helps patient’s body pump blood when the heart fails. To carry out this procedure, a trained person manually presses up and down the casualty’s chest (chest compressions) and performs a series of rescue breaths by means of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation which help restore breathing and circulation.