First Aid: Basic Life Support (BLS) for Adult

BLS is the foundation for saving lives after cardiac arrest. The AHA’s BLS Course has been updated to reflect new science in the 2020 American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. This video-based, Instructor-led course teaches both single-rescuer and team basic life support skills for application in both in-facility and prehospital settings.

The 2020 Guidelines are a comprehensive revision of the AHA’s guidelines for adult resuscitation education science, and systems of care topics. They have been developed for resuscitation providers and AHA instructors to focus on the resuscitation science and guidelines recommendations that are most significant or controversial, or those that will result in changes in resuscitation training and practice, and to provide the rationale for the recommendations.

Survival after cardiac arrest requires an integrated system of people, training, equipment, and organizations. Willing bystanders, emergency service telecommunicators, and BLS providers working within EMS systems all contribute to successful resuscitation from OHCA. Within hospitals, the work of physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and other professionals supports resuscitation outcomes. Successful resuscitation also depends on the contributions of equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, resuscitation instructors, guidelines developers, and many others. Long-term survivorship requires support from family and professional caregivers, including experts in cognitive, physical, and psychological rehabilitation and recovery. A systems-wide commitment to quality improvement at every level of care is essential to achieving successful outcomes.