When someone stops breathing, their body is running out of oxygen—and every second counts. Rescue breathing, a manual method of delivering air into a person’s lungs when they can’t breathe on their own. Also known as artificial ventilation, it’s not just a step in CPR—it’s often the difference between survival and permanent brain damage. You don’t need to be a doctor to do it right. Emergency responders, parents, teachers, and coworkers have all used rescue breathing to bring someone back from the edge.
It’s not always about heart attacks. People drown, choke, overdose, or collapse from asthma or seizures. In those moments, the heart might still be beating, but the lungs have stopped. That’s when rescue breathing alone can keep them alive until help arrives. The goal isn’t to inflate the chest like a balloon—it’s to deliver just enough air to get oxygen to the brain. Too much air can hurt. Too little won’t help. The key is slow, steady breaths—about one every five seconds—until they start breathing on their own or EMS shows up.
Rescue breathing works best when paired with chest compressions, especially if the person’s heart has stopped. But in cases like drowning or drug overdose, where oxygen is the main problem, rescue breathing before compressions can be more critical. That’s why guidelines vary by situation. The American Heart Association updated its advice in 2020 to stress that for untrained bystanders, hands-only CPR is still better than doing nothing. But if you’ve been trained, or if you’re sure the person stopped breathing due to suffocation, rescue breathing makes a real difference.
What you need? Just your hands, your mouth, and the willingness to act. No mask, no gadget, no permission. Most people worry about infection, but the risk is extremely low. The CDC says the chance of catching anything from rescue breathing is less than one in a million. And if you’re afraid of mouth-to-mouth, you can push on the chest harder and faster—compression-only CPR still saves lives. But if you’re able to give breaths, do it. The person you’re helping doesn’t care how it looks. They just need air.
There’s a myth that you need perfect technique. You don’t. A 2019 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that even untrained volunteers who gave rescue breaths with poor form still improved survival rates by 40% compared to those who did nothing. That’s not luck. That’s biology. The body holds onto oxygen longer than most people think. Even weak breaths can delay brain damage for minutes longer than no breaths at all.
So what do you do if you see someone collapse? Check for responsiveness. Shout. Tap. If they don’t move and aren’t breathing normally, call 911. Then start compressions. If you’re trained, give two breaths after every 30 compressions. If you’re not, keep pushing. If you’re unsure whether they’re breathing, assume they’re not. Better to act than wait. Rescue breathing isn’t magic. It’s simple. And it’s one of the few medical skills anyone can learn in under ten minutes—and use to save someone’s life tomorrow.
Below, you’ll find real-world guides on how to respond when someone stops breathing, what to do when CPR isn’t enough, and how to prepare for emergencies at home, at work, or on the road. These aren’t theory pieces. They’re step-by-step tools from people who’ve been there.
