YMCA Lifeguard Practice Test

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $4.99 payment

Prepare for your YMCA Lifeguard Exam with our comprehensive quiz. This resource includes multiple-choice questions that simulate the exam experience, enhancing your knowledge and skills to ensure you are ready on test day.

Practice this question and more.

What is the primary purpose of performing CPR?

To restore breathing
To stimulate the heart
To maintain blood circulation
To clear an obstructed airway

The correct answer is: To maintain blood circulation

The primary purpose of performing CPR is to maintain blood circulation. When a person experiences cardiac arrest, their heart stops beating effectively, which halts the flow of oxygenated blood to vital organs. CPR combines chest compressions and, if necessary, rescue breaths to manually keep blood circulating throughout the body. This is crucial because the brain and other vital organs can suffer irreversible damage if deprived of oxygen for too long. By maintaining some level of blood circulation, CPR can help sustain life until emergency medical services can take over and provide advanced care. Restoring breathing and stimulating the heart are also important components of life-saving techniques, but they are secondary outcomes. The immediate goal of CPR is focused on delivering blood circulation, which indirectly supports the restoration of normal heart function and breathing once advanced medical support is available. Clearing an obstructed airway is a separate procedure that is vital in cases of choking but is not the primary purpose of CPR itself.