Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

Health care professionals and advanced CPR

ACLS training is a well-known training program among health care professionals because it is a credential requested by most health care facilities from their employees. Unlike basic CPR courses, only people who work in health care and can perform medical interventions (such as the administration of medication) are allowed to take ACLS and PALS (pediatric) training. The ACLS program focuses on the medical management of adult cases – or cases where the victim is older than 17 years old (compared to the PALS program that is focused on infants and toddlers). Our ACLS program takes two days to complete, with class hours totaling to 16 hours. It also has a re-certification class available that runs for 5 to 6 hours.

The dangers of a heart attack

Heart attacks and angina
Common circulatory emergencies are heart attacks and angina. Both of these topics are covered in CPR and first aid certification courses.

Heart attacks kill thousands of people each year in America. It is usually caused by a pre-existing cardiac problem, usually caused by lifestyle-related factors. Atherosclerosis is a condition where blood vessels become obstructed by a build-up of plaque (made up of fat and inflammatory cells). When atherosclerosis occurs in the coronary arteries (arteries that supply the heart with blood), a person develops CAD – coronary artery disease. CAD alone, in times of hypertensive crisis, can cause a heart attack. The coronary arteries become completely obstructed, cutting off the blood flow to the heart. This sudden lack of blood flow to the cardiac muscle causes a heart attack, which can further develop into cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is a state wherein the heart is no longer beating. Without a normally beating heart, our organs become deprived of oxygen – which can lead to multi-organ failure and death.

CPR: saving lives

With CPR, a person can be rescued from cardiac arrest. CPR – short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation – is made up of three core techniques: compression, ventilation, and defibrillation. If CPR is performed correctly within the first five to ten minutes of cardiac arrest, it can drastically improve patient outcomes and overall survival rates. Sadly, only 30 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are given CPR in time. Millions of Americans each year are trained by the AHA and its affiliate organizations. This is meant to help reduce the number of deaths caused by cardiac arrest, especially from out-of-hospital arrests. How does CPR work? Basically, CPR works in two ways – oxygenating the blood and helping it circulate in the body. When people enter cardiac arrest, the heart cannot deliver blood to the rest of the body and the victim mostly likely has irregular or absent respiration. Without oxygen and circulation, the organs cannot function adequately. Compressions pump the heart and make blood circulate while ventilations oxygenate the blood. The only difference between basic and advanced CPR is the use of medical management techniques adjunct with these core skills. Where can I enroll in an ACLS? We have six providers over five states, all offering the same courses and re-certification classes: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Seattle, and Portland.

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