American Heart Association Training

Basic Life Support (BLS)

The AHA’s BLS course trains participants to promptly recognize several life-threatening emergencies, give high-quality chest compressions, deliver appropriate ventilations and provide early use of an AED. Reflects science and education from the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).

Who should take this course?

The AHA’s BLS Course is designed for healthcare professionals and other personnel who need to know how to perform CPR and other basic cardiovascular life support skills in a wide variety of in-facility and prehospital settings.

What does this course teach?

• High-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants
• The AHA Chain of Survival, specifically the BLS components
• Important early use of an AED
• Effective ventilations using a barrier device
• Importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation and performance as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR
• Relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for adults and infants

Course Schedule

View Basic Life Support (BLS) Course Schedule

To pre-register and for more information, please contact us at aha@blueridge.edu or call (828) 694-1748 during college’s hours of operation.

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)

• For healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies and for personnel in emergency response

What does this course teach?

After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:

• Define systems of care
• Apply the BLS, Primary, and Secondary Assessments sequence for a systematic evaluation of adult patients
• Discuss how the use of a rapid response team (RRT) or medical emergency team (MET) may improve patient outcomes
• Discuss early recognition and management of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), including appropriate disposition
• Discuss early recognition and management of stroke, including appropriate disposition
• Recognize bradycardias and tachycardias that may result in cardiac arrest or complicate resuscitation outcome
• Perform early management of bradycardias and tachycardias that may result in cardiac arrest or complicate resuscitation outcome
• Model effective communication as a member or leader of a high-performance team
• Recognize the impact of team dynamics on overall team performance
• Recognize respiratory arrest
• Perform early management of respiratory arrest
• Recognize cardiac arrest
• Perform prompt, high-quality BLS including prioritizing early chest compressions and integrating early automated external defibrillator (AED) use
• Perform early management of cardiac arrest until termination of resuscitation or transfer of care, including immediate post–cardiac arrest care
• 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
• View Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Course Schedule

To pre-register and for more information, please contact us at aha@blueridge.edu or call (828) 694-1748 during college’s hours of operation.

ACLS for Experienced Providers

• For those who are proficient in performing BLS and ACLS skills, reading and interpreting ECGs, understanding ACLS pharmacology; and who regularly lead or participate in emergency assessment and treatment of prearrest, arrest, or postarrest patients

What does this course teach?

• Demonstrate proficiency in providing BLS care, including prioritizing chest compressions and integrating use of an AED
• Recognize and manage respiratory arrest
• Recognize and manage cardiac arrest until termination of resuscitation or transfer of care, including post–cardiac arrest care

View ACLS for Experienced Providers Course Schedule

To pre-register and for more information, please contact us at aha@blueridge.edu or call (828) 694-1748 during college’s hours of operation.

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS):

• For healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units

What does this course teach?

The PALS Provider Course aims to improve outcomes for pediatric patients by preparing healthcare providers to effectively recognize and intervene in patients with respiratory emergencies, shock, and cardiopulmonary arrest by using high‐performance team dynamics and high‐quality individual skills. The course includes a series of case scenario practices with simulations that reinforce important concepts. Upon successful completion of all the patient cases, students must pass the multiple-choice exam with a minimum score of 84%. Topics include:

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to

• Perform high‐quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) per American Heart Association (AHA) basic life support (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

View Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Course Schedule

To pre-register and for more information, please contact us at aha@blueridge.edu or call (828) 694-1748 during college’s hours of operation.

Course Descriptions

Instructor certification courses are held based on the needs of the Training Center of Blue Ridge Community College. If you are interested in pursuing instructor recognition, please email us at aha@blueridge.edu with the subject line of “Potential Instructor Candidate”

Course Descriptions

Heartsaver courses are designed for anyone with little or no medical training who needs a course completion card for job, regulatory (for example, OSHA), or other requirements. These courses can also be taken by anyone who wants to be prepared for an emergency in any setting. For many Heartsaver courses, students receive a course completion card that is valid for 2 years.​
Blue Ridge Community College is committed to fostering public education in CPR and First Aid. Due to the social distancing policies of the college, we are unable to offer classes in a traditional manner. Interested persons are encouraged to complete an online course by going to:

Upon completion, please email the completion certificate to aha@blueridge.edu for an appointment for a skills check-off. These will be conducted during business hours and cost $20 plus the eCard fee.