Abstract
First, historical aspects in the development of closed chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CC-CPR) are re-viewed. CC-CPR is a combination of external, cardiac defibrillation and closed chest cardiac compression (CCCC) . Kouwenhoven had been developing cardiac defibrillation when by chance he discovered the effectiveness of CCCC. He united CCCC and external cardiac defibrillation and made it possible to use CC-CPR in daily clinical activity. The mechanism by which blood flows during CCCC is discussed also.
Second, active compression-decompression (ACD) CPR was reviewed with special reference to its characteristics and the blood flow mechanism during the compression-decompression cycle.
