AHA Emergency Cardiac Care Programs

Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers

The Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers Course is designed to provide a wide variety of healthcare professionals the ability to recognize several life-threatening emergencies, provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve choking in a safe, timely and effective manner.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

ACLS is an advanced, instructor-led classroom course that highlights the importance of team dynamics and communication, systems of care and immediate post-cardiac-arrest care. It also covers airway management and related pharmacology. In this course, skills are taught in large, group sessions and small, group learning and testing stations where case-based scenarios are presented.

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

The PALS course gives healthcare professionals the knowledge and skills to better recognize and treat critically ill infants and children.  The course uses a scenario-based, team approach to teach pediatric emergency management of pediatric patients approaching or already in respiratory or cardiac arrest.  The course covers treatment beyond the first few emergency minutes and goes through stabilizing patients or transport phases of a pediatric emergency, in or out of the hospital.

Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS)

The main focus of PEARS is prevention, and specifically, the assessment, recognition and stabilization of pediatric victims at risk of severe cardiopulmonary distress. Through unique learning tools, such as video-based simulation, providers can see and hear critically ill children with whom they do not typically come in contact, equipping them to recognize the symptoms of pediatric victims, and thus begin stabilization prior to arrest. The course is video based with instructor-led discussion and simulation. Students participate in, practice and complete various skills and learning stations and are required to pass skills tests, as well as a written test. Key topics covered are: Pediatric assessment; Respiratory compromise and arrest recognition and management; Circulatory compromise and arrest recognition and management; Shock recognition and management; Resuscitation team concept.

Courses are taught by certified instructors using curricula from the American Heart Association.