Alerting emergency medical services, rapidly initiating chest compressions at the correct depth and frequency and delivering an electric shock as quickly as possible remain the key points of the updated guidelines for adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Following their five-year systematic review, both the American Heart Association (AHA) and the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) are reinforcing their messages in favour of simple and early actions, while adding nuances regarding drugs, and suggesting that the chain of survival should continue beyond the acute hospital phase. Here is an overview of the reminders and novelties of the AHA and ERC 2020 guidelines.