A medical emergency has occurred. A friend, family member, or even a stranger has been badly hurt or suffered a debilitating attack. You've called 911 and the EMTs are on their way. But they will take minutes to arrive, and the emergency victim may not have minutes to live. Their survival of the next few minutes depends on one person: you. What do you do while you wait for help? Here are three vital steps to take.

1. Medical Emergencies - What To Do Until Help Arrives
A medical emergency has occurred. A friend, family member, or even a stranger has been badly hurt or
suffered a debilitating attack. You've called 911 and the EMTs are on their way. But they will take minutes
to arrive, and the emergency victim may not have minutes to live. Their survival of the next few minutes
depends on one person: you. What do you do while you wait for help? Here are three vital steps to take.
Remain calm
In a situation like this, it is absolutely paramount that you keep your head. Even if people around you are
screaming, crying, or running around, you can--and you must--stay calm. Take a deep breath, let yourself be
as scared as you need to be for five seconds, and then focus on the person who needs your help and
ascertain how best you can help them. They are counting on you to remain calm.
Administer first aid
Chances are if a medical emergency has occurred, there will be a few steps you can take to administer first
aid right then and there. If the victim is bleeding, grab a gauze pad or clean cloth, cover the wound with it,
and apply pressure to stop the blood loss. If the victim is choking, give them the Heimlich maneuver. If the
victim is having a seizure, kneel behind them and support the back of their head with your hands. If the
victim is not breathing and/or has no pulse, give CPR. If you don't know how to do CPR, find someone who
does--yell "I need CPR here!" as loud as you can.
Don't give up
Even the most rudimentary first aid effort can prove incredibly helpful if they are applied with persistence.
If you're applying pressure to stop blood loss, don't slacken off. If you're giving CPR, don't stop. If you are
calling for help, keep calling. Your job is to keep doing what you're doing until one of three things happens:
the EMTs arrive, another person who knows first aid arrives, or you physically collapse from exhaustion.
You will recover--the person you're helping may not, if you stop.
If you do these three things, the chances of the victim surviving until the EMTs from the urgent care
Scottsdale facility closest to you arrive are exponentially stronger than if you don't.