when checking for breathing, if you hear gasps
When In Doubt, Do CPR. If you're looking at a person you can't wake up and aren't sure if he or she is breathing, he or she probably isn't. If the patient is taking such shallow breaths you can't see the chest rising and falling, it's not enough. If the patient is gasping every few seconds for air, it's not enough. Either way, call 911 and push on the chest. CPR is changing. There's been a lot of research done trying to determine what kind of CPR is better and who should perform it. Simply put: doing something is better than doing nothing.