FAQ

All AHA certifications are good for two years.

Heartsaver ILT Courses include Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED, Heartsaver CPR AED, and Heartsaver First Aid. The AHA’s Heartsaver First Aid and CPR AED courses have been updated to reflect new science in the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care and the American Heart Association and American Red Cross Update for First Aid.  Heartsaver courses are designed to prepare students to provide first aid, CPR, and AED use in a safe, timely, and effective manner. These courses are designed to be flexible and customizable with optional modules.

Heartsaver courses are intended for are designed for anyone with little or no medical training who needs a course completion card for job, regulatory (e.g., OSHA), or other requirements. These courses can also be taken by anyone who wants to be prepared for an emergency in any setting.

At the end of the Heartsaver CPR AED Course, students will be able to:

• Describe how high-quality CPR improves survival
• Explain the concepts of the Chain of Survival
• Recognize when someone needs CPR
• Perform high-quality CPR for an adult
• Describe how to perform CPR with help from others
• Give effective breaths by using mouth-to-mouth or a mask for all age groups
• Demonstrate how to use an AED on an adult
• Perform high-quality CPR for a child*
• Demonstrate how to use an AED on a child*
• Perform high-quality CPR for an infant*
• Describe when and how to help a choking adult or child
• Demonstrate how to help a choking infant*

*Child and infant modules are optional.

At the end of the Heartsaver First Aid Course, students will be able to

• List the priorities, roles, and responsibilities of first aid rescuers
• Describe the key steps in first aid
• Remove protective gloves
• Find the problem
• Describe the assessment and first aid actions for the following life-threatening conditions:

Heart attack, difficulty breathing, choking, severe bleeding, shock, and stroke

• Use an epinephrine pen
• Control bleeding and bandaging
• Recognize elements of common injuries
• Recognize elements of common illnesses
• Describe how to find information on preventing illness and injury
• Recognize the legal questions that apply to first aid rescuers

At the end of the Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED Course, students will be able to do all of the above.

The science in the official AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC shows that victims have a greater chance of survival from cardiac arrest when high-quality CPR includes use of an AED.

CPR and the use of AEDs by public safety-first responders were recommended to increase survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. There is clear and consistent evidence of improved survival from cardiac arrest when a bystander performs CPR and rapidly uses an AED. Thus, immediate access to a defibrillator is a primary component of the system of care to be implemented in public locations where there is a relatively high likelihood of witnessed cardiac arrest, e.g., airports, casinos, and sports facilities. While in the past, AEDs were located in locked buildings or locked cabinets, they are now more widely available in public and workplace settings.

Heartsaver courses include group interaction and hands-on coaching and feedback from an AHA Instructor. These classroom-based courses are video based. Many of the lessons in the Heartsaver courses use the practice-while-watching format. This means that students practice skills as the video guides them.

Skills tested for each course are listed below:

Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED

• Removing Protective Gloves
• Finding the problem
• Using an Epinephrine Pen
• Controlling Bleeding and Bandaging
• Adult CPR AED
• Child CPR (when taught)
• Infant CPR (when taught)

Heartsaver CPR AED

• Adult CPR AED
• Child CPR (when taught)
• Infant CPR (when taught)

Heartsaver First Aid

• Removing Protective Gloves
• Finding the problem
• Using an Epinephrine Pen
• Controlling Bleeding and Bandaging

Heartsaver CPR AED provides students the opportunity to practice giving breaths both mouth-to-Mouth and with a mask during the course. The course materials describe the use of “barrier device” on the skills testing checklists for testing purposes. For this course, the term “barrier device” is defined in the materials as either a face shield or a pocket mask. Students are required to practice using a pocket mask and, if they are testing with a face shield, the AHA recommends they also practice using a face shield.

While the AHA does not mandate completion of an exam for Heartsaver courses, an optional exam is available for Instructors to administer to students whose employers require completion of an exam and will be administered in the classroom portion of the course.

The following are approximate completion times for each course.

• Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED: approximately 6 hours
• Heartsaver CPR AED: approximately 3 hours
• Heartsaver First Aid: approximately 3 hours

Yes. Students who successfully complete the requirements of these courses will receive an AHA Course completion card, valid two years.

No, CE/CME credits are not offered for these courses.

No, there is no challenge option for Heartsaver courses.

Depending on the course, each student must have his/her own Heartsaver First Aid, Heartsaver CPR AED, or Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED Student Workbook in print or eBook format.

Classroom course materials can be purchased from the instructor or training center.

The new Heartsaver First Aid and CPR AED ILT Courses may be taught by AHA BLS or Heartsaver Instructors who have completed their 2015 Guidelines Instructor Update for Heartsaver and have received and reviewed their new Heartsaver Instructor materials.

The term choking refers to a block in the upper airway caused by food or other objects. The airway block can be mild or severe. When the airway block is mild, the person who is choking can breathe, speak, and cough. Forceful coughing will often succeed in dislodging the object from the airway. A rescuer does not need to intervene as long as the person can breathe, speak, and cough. If the rescuer is worried about the person’s breathing, the rescuer should call 911. If the airway block is severe, air is not getting to the lungs, so the rescuer must act. The person with severe airway block is unable to breathe, speak, or cough. Choking with severe airway block is life threatening, and the person needs to recognize the problem and provide immediate first aid with  abdominal thrusts.

Yes. CPR is safe to do on someone with a pacemaker. If using an AED, try to avoid placing the AED pads directly over the pacemaker, because the pacemaker can block delivery of the shock to the heart.

Move the person to the floor and begin CPR. If you are unable to move the person and you are alone, provide chest thrusts if you can, by kneeling behind the wheelchair, wrapping your arms around the person, and using your fists to perform thrusts in the center of the chest. Continue chest thrusts until help arrives. It is always better to attempt CPR than to do nothing.

The AHA’s BLS Course provides the foundation for saving lives after cardiac arrest. Reflecting science and education in the AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC, this course teaches basic life support skills for application in both in-facility and prehospital settings, with a focus on high-quality CPR, improvement of chest compression fraction, and high-performing team dynamics.

After successfully completing the BLS Course, students should be able to

• Describe the importance of high-quality CPR and its impact on survival
• Describe all the steps of the Chain of Survival
• Apply the BLS concepts of the Chain of Survival
• Recognize the signs of someone needing CPR
• Perform high-quality CPR for an adult
• Describe the importance of early use of an automated external defibrillator (AED)
• Demonstrate the appropriate use of an AED
• Provide effective ventilation using a barrier device
• Perform high-quality CPR for a child
• Perform high-quality CPR for an infant
• Describe the importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation
• Perform as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR
• Describe the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction for an adult or child
• Describe the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction for an infant

CCF is the amount of time during a cardiac arrest event that high-quality chest compressions are performed. Improving CCF to achieve the 80% threshold has been shown to increase survival by 200% to 300%.

The AHA’s BLS Course is designed for healthcare providers caring for patients both in prehospital and in-facility environments.

In-facility refers to healthcare providers who work in a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare facility including a dentist office, skilled nursing, and assisted-living facilities.

The audience-specific identifiers used prior to the 2015 AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC were removed because the 2016 BLS Course was designed for healthcare providers caring for patients both in and out of a hospital/in-facility setting.

Three different course formats are available to accommodate the learning needs of individual Students and offer flexibility for Instructors. All three course formats include the same learning objectives and result in the same course completion card.

• Instructor-led training

1. This option is led by an AHA Instructor in a classroom setting. Instructors deliver courses designed to include both the cognitive portion of training and the psychomotor component of thorough skills practice and testing.

• Blended learning (HeartCode® BLS)

2. Blended learning uses online technology not only to supplement but also to transform and improve the learning process. Successful blended learning can reach students with varying learning styles and in different environments. It is a combination of eLearning, in which a student completes part of the course in a self-directed manner, and a hands-on session.

• Resuscitation Quality Improvement™ (RQI™)

3. A unique ECC program designed specifically for training actively employed healthcare providers in clinical environments. Unlike the Instructor-led and/or blended course, the RQI program is a maintenance-of-competence platform designed for site-specific adoptions.

Yes.

The BLS ILT Course is approximately 4 hours long including all required lessons.

The BLS Renewal Course is approximately 2 hours, 50 minutes long including all required lessons.

The BLS Course may be taught by AHA BLS Instructors who have completed their 2015 Guidelines Instructor Update for BLS and have received and reviewed their BLS Course.

The AHA’s ACLS Course has been updated to reflect new science in the AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC. This course builds on the foundation of lifesaving BLS skills, emphasizing the importance of continuous, high-quality CPR. This advanced course highlights the importance of high performance team dynamics and communication, systems of care, recognition and intervention of cardiopulmonary arrest, immediate post-cardiac arrest, acute dysrhythmia, stroke, and acute coronary syndromes. The goal of the ACLS Provider Course is to improve outcomes for adult patients of cardiac arrest and other cardiopulmonary emergencies through early recognition and interventions by high-performance teams.

After successfully completing the ACLS Course, students should be able to

• Apply the BLS, Primary, and Secondary Assessments sequence for a systematic evaluation of Adult patients

• Perform prompt, high-quality BLS, including prioritizing early chest compressions and Integrating early automated external defibrillator (AED) use

• Recognize and perform early management of respiratory arrest
• Discuss early recognition and management of ACS and stroke, including appropriate disposition

• Recognize and perform early management of bradyarrhythmias and tachyarrhythmias that May result in cardiac arrest or complicate resuscitation outcome

• Recognize and perform early management of cardiac arrest until termination of resuscitation Or transfer of care, including immediate post–cardiac arrest care

• Model effective communication as a member or leader of a high-performance team
• Evaluate resuscitative efforts during a cardiac arrest through continuous assessment of CPR quality, monitoring the patient’s physiologic response, and delivering real-time feedback to the team

• Recognize the impact of team dynamics on overall team performance
• Discuss how the use of a rapid response team or medical emergency team may improve patient outcomes

• Define systems of care

In the ACLS Course, cognitive and psychomotor skills will be learned through small-group teaching, case scenario practice on a manikin as Team Leader and team members (i.e., hands-on learning), and use of large- or small group short video presentations with Instructor-student interaction (i.e., engage students in discussion).The course is designed to give students the opportunity to practice and demonstrate proficiency in the following skills used in resuscitation:

• Systematic approach
• High-quality BLS
• Airway management
• Rhythm recognition
• Defibrillation
• Intravenous (IV)/intraosseous (IO) access (information only)
• Use of medications
• Cardioversion
• Transcutaneous pacing
• Team dynamics

Yes.

Yes.

Three different course formats will be available to accommodate the learning needs of individual students and offer flexibility for Instructors. All formats have the same learning objectives and offer the same course completion card.

Providers who take ACLS Course must be proficient in the following:

• Performing high-quality BLS skills through the use of the 2015 AHA Guidelines Update for CPR
• Reading and interpreting electrocardiograms (ECGs)
• Understanding ACLS drugs
• Bag-mask ventilations

The ACLS Student Website (www.heart.org/eccstudent) contains the following:

• Mandatory Precourse Self-Assessment
• ACLS Supplementary Information
• High-Quality BLS video
• Acute Coronary Syndromes video
• Stroke video
• Airway Management video

The Precourse Self-Assessment is an online tool that evaluates a student’s knowledge in 3 sections: rhythm recognition, pharmacology, and practical application. Students complete the assessment before the course to help evaluate their proficiency and determine the need for additional review and practice before the course. All students must complete the Precourse Self-Assessment and achieve a score of at least 70% before taking the ACLS Course. Students must print their successful completion certificate and bring it with them to class.

Students need to make sure they are prepared for the ACLS course to minimize the risk of failing the course. Market research indicated a significantly favorable response from instructors on making the precourse self-assessment mandatory. The need for a mandatory precourse has increased in recent years due to more non-traditional students taking ACLS.

The PALS Course, updated to reflect the AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC, is the AHA’s advanced pediatric life support course. The goal of the PALS Course is to improve the quality of care provided to seriously ill or injured children, resulting in improved outcomes. This classroom, Instructor-led course teaches the important concepts of a systematic approach to pediatric assessment, basic life support, PALS treatment algorithms, effective resuscitation, and team dynamics.

The PALS Course is conducted by an AHA PALS Instructor in a classroom setting, supported by video.  The course uses a series of simulated pediatric emergencies to reinforce the important concepts of a systematic approach to pediatric assessment, basic life support, PALS treatment algorithms, effective resuscitation and team dynamics. The course offers life-like skills animations, team dynamics role play, and scenarios appropriate to different types of providers (prehospital and inhospital).

The new PALS Course contains key changes reflecting science from the AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Perform high-quality Child CPR AED and Infant CPR per AHA BLS recommendations
• Differentiate between patients who do and do not require immediate intervention
• Recognize cardiopulmonary arrest early and begin CPR within 10 seconds
• Apply team dynamics
• Differentiate between respiratory distress and failure
• Perform early interventions for respiratory distress and failure
• Differentiate between compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock
• Perform early interventions for the treatment of shock
• Differentiate between unstable and stable patients with arrhythmias
• Describe clinical characteristics of instability in patients with arrhythmias
• Implement post–cardiac arrest management

The AHA’s PALS Course is for healthcare providers who either direct or participate in the management of respiratory and/or cardiovascular emergencies and cardiopulmonary arrest in pediatric patients. This includes personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care, and critical care units such as physicians, nurses, paramedics, and others who need a PALS course completion card for job or other requirements.

The minimum course completion requirements include:

• Participation in the classroom course, including completion of all learning stations
• Completion of the open-resource written exam with a minimum score of 84%
• Passing the 1- and 2-Rescuer Child BLS With AED and 1- and 2-Rescuer Infant BLS Skills
• Passing 2 PALS core case scenarios (1 cardiac and 1 respiratory or shock) as a team leader,
• Upper Airway Obstruction
• Lower Airway Obstruction
• Lung Tissue Disease
• Disordered Control of Breathing
• Hypovolemic Shock
• Obstructive Shock
• Distributive Shock
• Cardiogenic Shock
• Supraventricular Tachycardia
• Bradycardia
• Asystole/PEA
• VF/Pulseless VT

Yes.

Yes.

Before taking PALS, students should have a mastery of infant and child BLS skills. Students should also

• Be able to recognize a variety of heart rhythms
• Be familiar with different types of airway management tools and how they are used
• Have knowledge of the drugs commonly used in the PALS algorithms and flowcharts
• Understand the Systematic Approach Algorithm and the “evaluate-identify-intervene” sequence

The AHA has created the PALS Student Website at www.heart.org/eccstudent.

• Mandatory Precourse Self-Assessment
• Precourse Preparation Checklist
• Systematic Approach video
• Management of Respiratory Distress and Failure video
• Management of Arrhythmias video
• Management of Shock video

The Precourse Self-Assessment is an online tool that evaluates a student’s knowledge in 3 sections: rhythm identification, pharmacology, and practical application. Students complete the assessment before the course to help evaluate their proficiency and determine the need for additional review and practice before the course. All students must complete the Precourse Self-Assessment and achieve a score of at least 70% before taking the PALS Course. Students may attempt the Precourse Self Assessment as many times as they need to in order to achieve a minimum score of 70%. Upon successful completion of the Precourse Self-Assessment, students must print their completion certificate and bring it with them to class.

Approximate course completion times are listed below.

• Full course: 13 hours 40 minutes
• Update with all optional stations: 8 hours 20 minutes
• Update without optional stations: 6 hours 20 minutes

Yes.

The AHA’s PEARS Course has been updated to reflect science in the AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC. This course helps healthcare providers develop the knowledge and skills needed for emergency evaluation and initial stabilization of seriously ill infants and children.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to

• Perform BLS consistent with the 2015 AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC
• Evaluate a seriously ill or injured child by using the pediatric systematic approach
• Apply effective team dynamics
• Demonstrate initial stabilization of a seriously ill or injured child, including a child with cardiac arrest, respiratory distress, or shock

The AHA’s PEARS Course is for healthcare providers and others who infrequently see critically ill infants and children. This audience could include

• Physicians and nurses not specializing in pediatrics
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants
• Emergency medical technicians
• Respiratory therapists
• Prehospital and in-hospital healthcare providers (outside of critical-care areas)
• Outpatient clinic staff
• School-based providers

For successful course completion, students must

• Actively participate in the case discussions
• Actively participate in the rescue breathing skills station and cardiac arrest case simulations
• Pass the skills tests in 1- and 2-rescuer child BLS with AED and 1- and 2-rescuer infant BLS
• Pass the video-based written exam with a minimum score of 84%

Approximate course completion times are listed below.

• Full course with optional lessons: 7 hours, 45 minutes
• Full course without optional lessons: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Yes. Students who successfully complete the requirements of the PEARS Course will receive an AHA PEARS Provider Course completion card, valid for two years.

Before taking PEARS, students should have a mastery of child and infant BLS skills, including how to perform CPR and use an AED.

Yes.