Heartsaver CPR/AED vs. Heartsaver First Aid: Which Course Does Your Job Need?

Heartsaver is the American Heart Association’s family of courses for people who are not healthcare providers: the office first-aid responder, the teacher, the coach, the security officer, the church volunteer. If an employer has asked you for “CPR and first aid”, a Heartsaver course is usually what they mean. This guide explains the options and how to choose between them.

Heartsaver or BLS?

The two are written for different jobs. BLS is the course for healthcare providers who respond to emergencies as part of a clinical team. Heartsaver is for everyone else — people who may need to act at work or in the community until emergency services arrive.

As a rule of thumb, clinical roles normally require BLS, and most workplace-compliance requirements are met by Heartsaver CPR/AED with First Aid. The rule has exceptions, so if your employer, insurer or licensing body names a specific course, that name is the one to book. If nobody has named one, ask before you book — or ask us, and we will help you check.

Heartsaver CPR/AED

This course teaches you to recognise a cardiac arrest, call for help, give CPR and use an AED. It covers:

• Recognising cardiac arrest and getting emergency help on the way
• CPR for adults and, where the course includes it, for children and infants
• Using an automated external defibrillator
• Relieving choking

Cardiac arrest is rare in any one workplace, but when it happens the minutes before an ambulance arrives matter more than anything that follows. That is the whole purpose of this course: making sure someone in the room knows what to do and does it without hesitating.

Heartsaver First Aid

First aid covers the emergencies that are far more common at work than a cardiac arrest. Topics include:

• Controlling severe bleeding
• Recognising and responding to a serious allergic reaction, including using an epinephrine auto-injector
• Breathing problems, including helping someone use their own inhaler
• Burns, sprains, broken bones, and head, neck and spine injuries
• Recognising stroke, seizure and low blood sugar
• Heat- and cold-related emergencies, and bites and stings

CPR/AED and First Aid together

Many employers want both, and the combined Heartsaver CPR/AED and First Aid course is the most efficient way to get them in one sitting. It is the usual choice for designated workplace responders — the people whose names go on the first-aid notice.

Who typically takes Heartsaver

• Teachers, school staff and coaches
• Fitness instructors and personal trainers
• Office and front-desk staff who act as designated responders
• Security officers and facilities teams
• Church and community volunteers
• Caregivers and direct-support staff who are not licensed clinicians

What you receive

Every Heartsaver course includes a hands-on skills check, so you leave having actually done it rather than only having watched it. Students who successfully complete the course receive an official American Heart Association course completion eCard, valid for two years — easy to forward to HR for your records.

Booking Heartsaver

We teach Heartsaver CPR/AED, Heartsaver First Aid and the combined course at our classroom at 5400 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite A-1, in Lilburn, Georgia. For offices, schools and community groups we also run on-site sessions anywhere in metro Atlanta, priced per group with a minimum headcount.

Current fees are on our CPR and Emergency Certification page. See the next dates on the class calendar, or contact us about training your team on site.