Emergency First Aid
What To Do If Someone Has a Heart Attack and Is Unconscious
Key Takeaway: If someone with a suspected heart attack is unconscious, call 000, check breathing straight away, and act on what you find. If they are not breathing normally, start CPR and use an AED if available. If they are breathing normally, place them in the recovery position and keep checking their breathing until the ambulance arrives.
This is the point where a suspected heart attack turns into an airway and breathing emergency. Do not waste time debating whether they have merely fainted or whether they still need aspirin. If they are unconscious, your job is to protect breathing and keep blood moving until paramedics take over.
🚨 Quick Action Guide
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Person with chest pain or suspected heart attack becomes unresponsive | Call 000, get them flat on the ground if possible, and check breathing immediately |
| Not breathing normally, only gasping, or no breathing | Start CPR now and use an AED if one is available |
| Breathing normally but unconscious | Place them in the recovery position and keep watching breathing closely |
| Aspirin has not been given yet | Do not put aspirin, food, drink, or medicine into the mouth of an unconscious person |
| Condition changes while waiting for the ambulance | Update the 000 operator straight away and switch to CPR if breathing stops being normal |
Table of Contents
🚨 What To Do Immediately
1. Treat unconsciousness as a life-threatening emergency
The Heart Foundation says a heart attack is a medical emergency and the healthdirect 000 guide includes unconsciousness and sudden collapse among the reasons to call an ambulance immediately. Once the person is unresponsive, stop thinking about “watch and wait” and switch to emergency action.
2. Check for a response and open the airway
Follow DRSABCD. The healthdirect first aid guide says to check response, then open the airway and look for normal breathing. If they are slumped in a chair, on a couch, or half off a bed, get them onto a safer flat surface if you can do it without delay.
3. Decide which path you are on: breathing normally or not breathing normally
This is the critical split. If they are not breathing normally, or they are only gasping, follow the healthdirect cardiac arrest advice and start CPR. If they are unconscious but breathing normally, the ANZCOR unconscious person guideline supports using the recovery position and constant monitoring.
4. Do not give aspirin, food, water, or any medicine by mouth
Aspirin can be helpful earlier in some suspected heart attack situations, but not when the person is unconscious and cannot safely chew or swallow. At that point the priorities are airway, breathing, circulation, and the ambulance. Do not put anything in their mouth.
5. Stay with them and keep reassessing
Someone can move from breathing normally to not breathing normally very quickly. Keep one person on breathing checks if possible. If you are alone, stay close, keep the phone on speaker, and follow the operator’s instructions.
📞 Call 000 and Say They Are Unconscious
The healthdirect 000 guide says to stay on the line until the operator tells you to hang up. When the person is unconscious, say that clearly at the start because it changes the urgency and the instructions you may get.
- Say you think it may be a heart attack and the person is unconscious
- Say whether they are breathing normally, only gasping, or not breathing
- Give the exact address, entry point, and any access barriers such as locked gates or unit numbers
- Say if CPR has started and whether an AED is available
- Tell the operator if the person had chest pain, arm pain, jaw pain, sweating, nausea, or collapsed suddenly before becoming unconscious
If there is another adult present, have them unlock doors, clear pets, and wait where paramedics can spot them. That is especially important in apartments, workplaces, or large venues.
🫁 The Breathing Check Changes Everything
When people search for heart attack first aid, they often picture someone sitting up, talking, and clutching their chest. This article is for the next stage: the person is no longer responsive, so you must stop treating them like an awake chest pain casualty and start treating them like an unconscious casualty.
If they are not breathing normally
The healthdirect cardiac arrest page says if someone has lost consciousness and is not breathing normally, call 000 and start CPR immediately. A heart attack can tip into cardiac arrest, which is why our guide to heart attack vs cardiac arrest is a useful sideways read. The practical rule is simple: no normal breathing means CPR now.
If they are breathing normally
The ANZCOR unconscious person guideline and healthdirect first aid guidance support placing an unconscious breathing person on their side with the airway open. That is why the recovery position matters here. It helps protect the airway while you wait for the ambulance and keep checking breathing.
If you are unsure whether breathing is normal
Occasional gasps are not normal breathing. The Australian Resuscitation Council notes that rescuers should act on unresponsive and not-normally-breathing casualties with CPR. If you are unsure, tell the operator exactly what you see and follow the instructions, but do not lose time.
If you need a refresher, our guides to CPR for adults and first aid for heart attack cover the broader sequence and why early action matters.
⏱️ What To Do While Waiting for the Ambulance
If they are in the recovery position
Keep the airway open and keep checking for changes. Watch the chest rise and fall. If breathing becomes abnormal, roll them onto their back and start CPR. Do not leave them propped in a chair or with their head tipped forward.
If CPR is underway
Keep going until paramedics take over, the person starts breathing normally, or you physically cannot continue. If another helper is present, swap compressors regularly. Use an AED as soon as it arrives and follow the prompts.
Prepare details for the handover
Have the symptom timeline ready: chest pain or warning signs, time of collapse, when breathing changed, whether CPR started, and whether any prescribed angina medicine or aspirin was given while they were still awake. Those details help paramedics understand the sequence quickly.
Keep the scene simple
Move unnecessary furniture, keep pets and bystanders back, and give paramedics enough room to work. If there is an AED in the building, send someone to get it immediately.
❌ What Not To Do
Do not put aspirin, water, food, or tablets into the mouth of an unconscious person.
Do not assume occasional gasps mean they are breathing normally.
Do not leave them sitting upright in a chair if they are unconscious.
Do not stop monitoring once they are on their side. Breathing can worsen suddenly.
Do not drive them to hospital yourself if they are unconscious. This is an ambulance job.
🎓 Why First Aid Training Matters
The hardest part of this scenario is not identifying that something is wrong. It is switching quickly from “possible heart attack” to “unconscious breathing check, recovery position, or CPR.” In a HLTAID011 Provide First Aid course, you practise that handover between chest pain first aid and full unconscious casualty care. That kind of first aid training is what makes you faster and calmer when the person suddenly stops responding.
Need A First Aid Course?
FAQs
Should I give aspirin if they are already unconscious?
What if they are unconscious but still breathing?
What counts as not breathing normally?
Can a heart attack make someone unconscious before the ambulance arrives?
Quick Summary
If someone with a suspected heart attack is unconscious:
• Call 000 and say they are unconscious
• Open the airway and check breathing immediately
• Breathing normally → recovery position and constant monitoring
• Not breathing normally or only gasping → start CPR and use an AED
• Do not give aspirin, food, drink, or tablets by mouth
• Keep updating the operator if the person’s breathing changes
