AHA 2020 Basic Life Support (BLS) Instructor Manual

BLS is the foundation for saving lives after cardiac arrest. The AHA’s BLS Course has been updated to reflect the new science in the 2020 American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (2020 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC).

The BLS Instructor Manual includes essential information and Lesson Plans that AHA BLS Instructors need to teach BLS courses, including full classroom and blended learning versions.

After successfully completing the BLS Course, students should be able to:

• Describe the importance of high-quality CPR and its impact on survival
• Describe all the steps of the Chain of Survival and apply the BLS concepts of the Chain of Survival
• Recognize the signs of someone needing CPR
• Perform high-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants
• Describe the importance of early use of an AED and demonstrate its use
• Provide effective ventilations by using a barrier device
• Describe the importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation and perform as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR
• Describe the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for adults and infants