Author Description

"Welcome to the American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider Course. BLS is the foundation for saving lives after cardiac arrest. In this course, you will learn the skills of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for victims of all ages. You will practice delivering these skills both as a single rescuer and as a member of a multirescuer team. The skills you learn in this course will enable you to: recognize cardiac arrest; activate the emergency response system early; and, respond quickly and confidently. The BLS Course focuses on what you need to know to perform high-quality CPR in a wide variety of settings. You will also learn how to respond to choking and other types of life-threatening emergencies. After successfully completing the BLS Course, you should be able to: describe the importance of high-quality CPR and its impact on survival; describe all the steps in the Chains of Survival; apply the BLS concepts of the Chains of Survival; recognize the signs of someone needing CPR; perform high-quality CPR for an adult, a child, and an infant; describe the importance of early use of an automated external defibrillator (AED); demonstrate the appropriate use of an AED; provide effective ventilation by using a barrier device; describe the importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation; perform as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR; and, describe the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction for an adult, a child, and an infant. This course prepares you to perform high-quality CPR skills. CPR is a lifesaving procedure for a victim who has signs of cardiac arrest (i.e., unresponsive, no normal breathing, and no pulse). The 2 key components of CPR are chest compressions and breaths. High-quality CPR improves a victim's chances of survival. Study and practice the characteristics of high-quality CPR so that you can perform each skill effectively."--