The ability to perform CPR is based more on body strength than age. Studies have shown that children as young as nine years old can learn and retain CPR skills.

The science in the official AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC shows that victims have a greater chance of survival from cardiac arrest when high-quality CPR includes use of an AED.

Our layperson courses are for anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card for job, regulatory or other requirements. While these courses are designed to meet OSHA requirements, OSHA does not review or approve any courses for compliance.

First responders or professional rescuers generally include fire, police, and emergency medical personnel. These types of prehospital professionals usually need to complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) course. Check with your employer or licensing authority and learn more about our BLS course options.

Pediatric First Aid CPR AED Course is designed to meet regulatory requirements for childcare workers in all 50 United States.

No. Each student must have his or her own current and appropriate manual or workbook readily available for use before, during and after the course.

Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by bystanders who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an “out-of-hospital” setting (such as at home, at work or in a park). It consists of two easy steps:

1. Call 9-1-1 (or send someone to do that).
2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100-120 pushes per minute.

The AHA recommends that healthcare providers use conventional CPR with a combination of breaths and compressions. Conventional CPR should also be used for

• All infants (up to age 1)
• Children (up to puberty)
• Anyone found already unconscious and not breathing normally
• Any victims of drowning, drug overdose, collapse due to breathing problems, or prolonged cardiac arrest

Learn more about Hands-Only CPR.

No. The purpose of the certification card is not to certify people in CPR, first aid, or advanced cardiovascular life support skills; it verifies that, at the time a person successfully completed training, he or she was able to perform skills satisfactorily.

We not endorse “cough CPR,” a coughing procedure widely publicized on the Internet. As noted in the AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC, “cough CPR” is not useful for unresponsive victims and should not be taught to lay rescuers. For more information, see the Cough CPR information page on Heart.org.