American Heart Association BLS Certification

The American Heart Association offers a variety of classes so you can earn your certification in basic life support or BLS.

BLS Certification
• The BLS American Heart Association classes so you can learn lifesaving skills. When you complete a basic life support class, you will get your certification.

Why Get Certified
• You may want to take a class to learn these skills, or your employer may require that you have your certification.

Types of Classes
• The American Heart Association gives classes for healthcare professionals, your place of work or for the general community. They also offer online and self-study classes.

What You Learn
• In a BLS class you learn how to assess and react in emergency situations. You will learn how to clear an airway of someone that is choking. You also learn how to dislodge obstructions that someone may be choking on. You will learn how to perform rescue breathing and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Dates of Classes
• You can find a class near you by going to the American Heart Association's website. You can locate classes by entering your address information, and you can register online.

About the American Heart Association

The BLS American Heart Association is the voice of heart disease victims and survivors in the United States. Since 1915, the American Heart Association has worked to educate the public on both the prevention and dangers of heart disease. The AHA has come a long way since its beginnings as a local organization in New York City.

History

In 1915, a group of New York City physicians and social workers banded together to spread information about heart disease. Other cities soon formed their own societies modeled after the one in New York. In 1924, these separate societies merged to form the American Heart Association. Since 1924, the AHA has worked to prevent strokes, heart attacks and other forms of cardiovascular disease by funding research and educating the public.

Mission
The American Heart Association's mission is "Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke." The AHA has set several goals, including reducing uncontrolled hypertension, or high blood pressure, by 25 percent by 2010. The AHA also is working to reverse the obesity epidemic and to slow the growth of the rate of diabetes.

Organization

The American Heart Association’s main headquarters is located in Dallas, TX. In addition to the main office, there are eight affiliate offices that cover the U.S as well as Puerto Rico. The affiliated offices cover administrative functions, advocacy, public relations and scientific research.

Similar Organizations

There have been several organizations whose mission overlaps the American Heart Association. These newer groups bear names that are similar to the AHA. This can cause confusion for potential donors. These groups include National Heart Association and the American Heart Research Foundation. The AHA encourages any potential donors to investigate any charity before donating money.

Funds Allocation

The American Heart Association uses 7.1 percent of all collected donations for administrative purposes. The balance is used for research and community education, including 35 percent for public health education and 23 percent for research.