10/23/2025
2025 AHA Guidelines Update: Key Changes for EMS and Healthcare Providers
The American Heart Association (AHA) has released its 2025 CPR and ECC Guidelines, introducing several important updates that impact both prehospital and in-hospital care providers.
🔹 Mechanical CPR Devices
One of the most significant updates is the AHA’s formal recommendation against the routine use of mechanical CPR devices.
While devices like the LUCAS have been widely adopted, recent research continues to show no improvement in patient survival when compared to manual CPR. Mechanical devices may still be considered in situations where maintaining high-quality CPR is difficult—such as during patient transport or when provider safety is a concern.
AHA Excerpt:
“Studies comparing mechanical to manual CPR have shown that mechanical CPR is no better than manual CPR in improving patient survival. At present, the routine use of mechanical CPR devices is not recommended (COR 3—No Benefit, LOE B-R) but may be considered in specific circumstances in which high-quality CPR cannot be maintained or for health care professional safety, such as during transport to a hospital (COR 2b, LOE C-LD).”
🔹 Foreign-Body Airway Obstruction (FBAO) in Adults
Another key change focuses on choking emergencies. The AHA now recommends back blows as the initial intervention for conscious adults with a foreign-body airway obstruction, followed by abdominal thrusts if the obstruction persists.
AHA Excerpt:
“Based on additional evidence of effectiveness and safety, the use of back blows is now recommended as the initial step for conscious adults with FBAO, followed by abdominal thrusts (COR 1, LOE B-NR)… Once the person becomes unresponsive, the recommendation is to initiate CPR (COR 1, LOE C-LD), with inspection of the mouth for presence of a foreign body prior to delivery of breaths (COR 1, LOE C-EO).”
These updates reinforce the importance of high-quality manual CPR and effective, evidence-based airway management—both core principles emphasized in MedStat’s training programs.
For full details and supporting evidence, visit the official 2025 AHA Guidelines:
https://cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines/adult-advanced-life-support
