Online BLS, ACLS, PALS Vendor Caution

Quite simply there are a host of online CPR, ACLS, and PALS training organizations that promise an easy and quick fix for your expired card. Frequently these online only providers:

• Bellow “we offer the most recent AHA guidelines” in our courses
• Tout “we use AHA guidelines and clinical recommendations”
• Shout things like, “we offer CME credits”
• Declare "no skills check required"

Please be cautious of these companies! The above statements (and many more) are creative and sometimes illegal uses of the American Heart’s trade mark. In the end these online providers WILL NOT issue you an American Heart course completion card.

Why an AHA Card Is Essential

Credibility matters and healthcare credentialing departments are looking only for American Heart course completion cards. For example the Veterans Health Administration, the world’s largest integrated healthcare system, will not accept anything but American Heart issued course completion cards. Plus many other healthcare organizations are making the same requirements. Oh and we cannot forget that state licensing boards, OSHA and Departments of Health are also only accepting American Heart issued cards.

Read the Fine Print

The truth is in the fine print. These online only sites create their own courses and certification using AHA material as a guideline but they are not an AHA authorized provider of American Heart courses. The card they provide will have their company name on it and is in no way affiliated with the AHA.
Genuine American Heart Association (AHA) certification cards are issued after the successful completion of a class or skill check by an authorized AHA instructor. Save time and money by training with an American Heart Association approved provider like Love Health Service.
 

What about Online Course from American Heart?

Online AHA courses only come from www.ahaonline.com and you can purchase the online AHA courses directly from the Heart Association's via www.onlineaha.com or an AHA authorized training provider like Love Health Service. 
 

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is only take an online course from www.onlineaha.com and only complete your skill check session with an AHA authorized training provider like Love Health Service.

How the Peri-Shock Pause in Automated External Defibrillators Affects CPR

As a training center coordinator I'm constantly finding ways to communicate how important it is for our instructors reinforce and impart that CPR is the most effective tool we have for saving a life.  In fact in a recent Grand Rounds CME event on “Beyond ACLS” the emergency room physician speaking noted that stopping CPR for greater than 10 seconds will equate to an 18% increase in death. This means that just by coordinating when we give the shock we get an 18% increase. That may not seem like much but I bet you'd be happy if you get an 18% increase in your pay check.

It goes without saying that our hearts beat all the time - 24/7. So why would we ever stop compressing on the chest during CPR? Well getting shocked by the AED is one reason (though research is underway suggesting CPR can continue while shocking occurs). But the shock itself only takes about 1 second. So now what? Below is nice summary article from JEMS. The authors work out the issues during the period of “Peri-Shock Pause”.

How the Peri-Shock Pause in Automated External Defibrillators Affects CPR

After immediately resuming chest compressions you think about how long it took to analyze, charge and shock the patient. You’re concerned because you are aware that your patient wasn’t receiving life-saving compressions during those valuable seconds of delay.  Although high-quality CPR is the cornerstone of resuscitation efforts, unnecessary pauses and delays in CPR play a critical role in reducing rates of survival. One specific area of focus involves the pauses during the rhythm analysis and charging of the AED, also known as the peri-shock pause. Read More at JEMS.com

Giving CPR for More Than 30 Minutes May Be Worth It

Giving CPR for More Than 30 Minutes May Be Worth It
Study finds keeping resuscitation efforts going for longer could improve brain function in survivors
Experts agree that after someone's heart stops, the sooner CPR is started the better the chances of survival. And now Japanese researchers report that continuing CPR for a half hour or more may help more victims survive with good brain function. The study found that even after 38 minutes of CPR, people could still recover and have good brain function. The findings are scheduled for presentation Saturday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Dallas. Not everyone is convinced that performing CPR for longer periods is necessarily better, however.
"I think this study has to be looked at with a lot of caution. Thirty-eight minutes is a long time, even for a young patient," said Dr. Hector Medina, a cardiologist at Scott and White Healthcare in Round Rock, Texas. "In routine practice, after 30 minutes ... we give really good thought about the feasibility of continuing the resuscitation effort, particularly in older patients."
Click Herefor full text of this article from US News.com