Community Courses
About 70 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes. About 46 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives.
The AHA offers a variety of programs to communities and schools to teach them about the importance of learning CPR and acting quickly in an emergency.
Family & Friends® CPR
The Family & Friends CPR Course teaches the lifesaving skills of adult Hands-Only CPR, adult CPR with breaths, child CPR with breaths, adult and child AED use, infant CPR, and mild and severe airway block for adults, children, and infants. Skills are taught in a dynamic group environment using the AHA’s research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which provides students with the most hands-on CPR practice time possible.
Who should take this course?
Family & Friends CPR is ideal for community groups, parents, grandparents, caregivers, schools and students, and others interested in learning how to save a life.
What does this course teach?
Adult Hands-Only CPR and AED
Adult CPR With Breaths (Optional)
Mild and Severe Airway Block: How to Help a Choking Adult (Optional)
Child CPR and AED (Optional)
Mild and Severe Airway Block: How to Help a Choking Child (Optional)
Infant CPR (Optional)
Mild and Severe Airway Block: How to Help a Choking Infant (Optional)
Heartsaver® for K-12 Schools
The Heartsaver for K-12 School course trains participants to give CPR, and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) in a safe, timely, and effective manner. Reflects science and education from the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).
Who should take this course?
The Heartsaver for K-12 School Course is designed for anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card in CPR and AED use to meet job, regulatory, or other requirements.
Is AHA Heartsaver for K-12 School the right course for me?
The Heartsaver for K-12 School is for students, faculty, and staff who successfully complete an AHA Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED, Heartsaver CPR AED, or Heartsaver First Aid Course. “Faculty” refers to teachers and coaches; “staff” refers to an employee of a K-12 school or K-12 school system. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years.
What does this course teach?
Describe how high-quality CPR improves survival
Explain the concepts of the Chain of Survival
Recognize when someone needs CPR
Perform high-quality CPR for an adult
Describe how to perform CPR with help from others
Give effective breaths using mouth-to-mouth or a mask for all age groups
Demonstrate how to use an AED on an adult
Perform high-quality CPR for a child*
Demonstrate how to use an AED on a child*
Perform high-quality CPR for an infant*
Describe when and how to help a choking adult or child
Demonstrate how to help a choking infant*
*Child and infant modules are optional.