What You Need To Know About CPR AED Online Certification

By Olivia Cross


The aim of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is to maintain circulation and keep the blood oxygenated in someone whose heart has stopped beating and who has stopped breathing. The technique is a combination of carefully timed chest compressions and rescue breaths. An automated external defibrillator is a portable device that is capable of monitoring a patient's heart rhythm; should it deviate from the norm, it can send an electrical shock to restore the natural heart beat. CPR AED online certification is an easy, efficient, and affordable way to become trained and certified in these techniques.

People often confuse CPR with Basic Life Support (BLS). The aim of BLS is to support blood circulation and breathing through a clear airway. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is only one skill that is used in basic life support. Basic life support does not involve medication and it is not invasive.

The kinds of people who should take BLS classes are nurses, doctors, dentists, EMTs, pharmacists and other health care professionals. The BLS curriculum covers infant and adult CPR, dealing with a choking victim, how to use bag valve masks, breathing barriers, AEDs and other types of basic life support equipment.

Basic Life Support classes are one level of course. There are other levels of emergency support training and certification for different types of people. Basic First Aid training is aimed at anyone who wants to learn. These courses teach people about trauma (bleeding from wounds), patient assessment, bone and muscle injuries, seizures, asthma, falls, heat stroke, hypothermia and other hot/cold emergencies, anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions, as well as emotional and legal ramifications of performing first aid.

Then there is pediatric first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. These courses are aimed at preschools, daycare centers, parents, school bus drivers, babysitters, and other child care workers. These classes cover the same topics as basic first aid training; it is aimed specifically at the differences and special considerations used for children as opposed to adults. Unlike Basic First Aid, it includes how to use an AED.

At the highest level is Advanced Cardiac Life Support. These classes are recommended for any health care professional who is likely to be in a position to respond to a cardiovascular emergency. In addition to the basic topics, ACLS includes airway management, pharmacology, and management of conditions like stroke and acute coronary syndromes.

You don't have to be a medical professional to benefit from basic life support, first aid or pediatric first aid and cpr training. You just need to have an interest in helping people. You also have to be prepared to step and not be shy about taking action. You could just save a life.

You never know when you are going to be faced with a real-life emergency. Someone collapses in the aisle of the supermarket, while crossing the street, or in your classroom. Whether or not you decide to learn first aid depends on what kind of person you want to be in these emergencies, the kind who stops and helps or the kind that stands helplessly by.




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