How does a healthcare provider assess the effectiveness of rescue breaths during CPR?

Assessing the effectiveness of rescue breaths during CPR is crucial to ensure that oxygen is being delivered adequately to the patient. Observing adequate chest rise and fall is the key indicator of successful rescue breaths. When a healthcare provider delivers a breath effectively, the chest should visibly rise, indicating that air is entering the lungs. Adequate chest rise confirms that the airway is open and that the breaths are inflating the lungs, which is essential for oxygenation.

Counting breaths per minute can provide some information about the overall ventilation rate but does not directly assess whether the breaths are effective in achieving ventilation. Checking pupil response is helpful in assessing neurological function rather than the effectiveness of rescue breaths. Measuring heart rate is important in evaluating cardiac function but does not provide direct information about the adequacy of ventilation during CPR. Therefore, observing chest rise and fall is the most reliable and direct method to assess whether rescue breaths are being effectively administered.