RQI Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider Practice Test

When you give a ventilation with a bag-mask, each breath should last about 1 second. Delivering a breath over roughly one second helps you push enough air into the lungs to cause visible chest rise without overinflating the chest or forcing air into the stomach. If you take longer than a second, the breaths can be less effective and slow the overall rate of ventilation; if you try to push air in too quickly, you risk barotrauma and poor ventilation. A one-second breath keeps the rhythm steady—about 10–12 breaths per minute during CPR for an adult when delivering breaths between chest compression cycles.