The American Heart Association this week officially changed its guidelines for CPR.

Officials say chest compression should be done first by non-professionals and professional rescuers on victims of cardiac arrest – not breathing.

The guidelines were published in Circulation, the Journal of the American Health Association, and they are an update to 2005 guidelines. The guidelines now switch from ABC (Airway-Breathing-Compressions) to CAB (compressions-Airway-Breathing).

“For more than 40 years, CPR training has emphasized the ABCs of CPR, which instructed people to open a victim’s airway by tilting their head back, pinching the nose and breathing into the victim’s mouth, and only then giving chest compressions,” said Dr. Michael Sayre, co-author of the guidelines and chairman of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee, in a statement.

“This approach was causing significant delays in starting chest compressions, which are essential for keeping oxygen-rich blood circulating through the body. Changing the sequence from A-B-C to C-A-B for adults and children allows all rescuers to begin chest compressions right away.”

Now, officials compressions should be started immediately on anyone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Breathing delays up to 30 critical seconds the compressions that get blood to the health and brain.

One note, this advice is for adults and children, not infants. Give compressions at a rate of at least 100 times a minute. Keep at it until help arrives.