Asphyxiation, << as `fihk` see AY shuhn, >> is a condition that occurs when there is a lack of oxygen in the air or in the blood or the tissues of the body. During breathing, the lungs provide the blood with oxygen from the air needed to sustain life. Without oxygen, the brain, heart, and other vital organs fail to function. A person loses consciousness when too little oxygen reaches the brain. The heart stops beating if it receives too little oxygen.
Common causes of asphyxiation include drowning, choking, receiving an electric shock, and inhaling poisonous fumes. A person who is not breathing often requires the mouth-to-mouth form of artificial respiration, also called rescue breathing (see First aid (Restoring breathing) ). First aid for a person choking on food or other objects includes the application of upward thrusts to the middle of the abdomen. This technique is known as the Heimlich maneuver (see First aid (Choking) ). A person whose heart has stopped beating requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR (see Cardiopulmonary resuscitation ).
