certification - American Health Care Academy

Most think they are too busy to take first aid lessons. In fact, they believe they probably will never need to use the knowledge they acquire. The solution to being too busy maybe enrolling for first aid certification online which you can take at your leisure time.

The benefits of learning first aid whether it be in a physical class or first aid certification online are numerous but today we will focus on just five of them. Let’s get started with number one.

You can Save a Life

Imagine being the reason someone is still alive. It can be a nice feeling but even the person whose life you save will feel even better. Sometimes the only reason a person survives an accident or a sudden heart failure could be the help they get from the person nearest to them. Another thing is that first aid also helps a person recover much faster. Since you prevent further injury, they can heal faster.

It can Prevent Extensive Damage

Certain emergencies can deteriorate and cause excessive damage. For example, if a person’s brain is not receiving oxygen, it begins to degenerate and even if the person survives death, they may end up with severe brain damage. If first aid is administered, you can prevent the person from getting brain damage by performing CPR until the medics come and take over.

It Ensures Your Safety

Often when people find themselves in a situation where someone they care about needs urgent attention, they end up putting themselves in harm’s way. One of the basic rules of first aid is to ensure your safety first. If for example, a person may be drowning, you would be advised not to jump into the water especially if they are bigger and heavier than you, but instead throw them a line or a floater to keep them from sinking because if you jump in the water, the person may be in a panic and end up pulling you under the water. You would also learn how to prevent emergencies by taking precautions since prevention is always the best cure.

You Learn to Make Victims More Comfortable

Sometimes the best first aid and treatment may just to make a person comfortable and avoid panicking. There may be no need for a trip to the medical room. A person with asthma may simply need their inhaler and they will be better, a nose bleed can be managed by reassuring the person not to panic and then getting them to sit in a particular position as you get the blood to clot. There are many situations you will learn about which simply need reassurance and comfort to enable recovery.

It Gives Confidence

You might already have knowledge of how to deal with certain situations and yet when you need to swing into action you do not have the confidence to practice what you know. When you take a first aid class, you gain confidence because you know that what you are doing is recommended by a trained person.

Emergencies can present at any time and it is a good idea to be prepared for them. Taking a first aid class will get you prepared.

Sudden cardiac arrest happens when someone’s heart stops beating. A person may be fine and experience a sudden cardiac arrest the next minute. Here is all you should know about it.

Administering CPR is one of the best ways to increase the survival odds of an SCA victim. However, CPR should be done who has CPR online certification to prevent causing more injury to the victim.

When you see someone attacked by sudden cardiac arrest, you are advised to call the emergency helplines and start CPR right away until medical personnel arrives. Cardiac arrest leads to an insufficient flow of oxygenated blood into the brain. Therefore, when the condition is not managed in time, the victim may die in minutes. In saying that, using a shock defibrillator to deliver electric shocks and restore breathing can help the victim. This could potentially save their life. Also, if another person is available near the scene, you can ask them to call for emergency help as you deliver CPR.

An automated external defibrillator is a portable device that detects a change in the heartbeat rhythm and gives an electric shock to restore the normal heartbeat. Moreover, AEDs are usually available in almost all public areas for emergency situations. Using an AED and giving CPR could potentially save the heart of a heart attack which is why you need to get that CPR online certification.

Statistics

Every 90 seconds, SCA claims one life
The likelihood of one surviving a heart attack depends on the effort applied by the potential rescuers
More than half of the reported sudden cardiac arrest cases are reported out of the hospital and the victims appear healthy, some are even athletes
Less than 15% of the victims survive, survival odds are higher if the witnesses call and request for emergency

Who is at Risk?

The causes of sudden cardiac arrest are not yet established but most point to ventricular fibrillation which is an abnormal heart rhythm. SCA does not happen to a specific group and it affects any age, gender, race, and community. Although, some conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, and heart attack increase the chance of one having a sudden cardiac arrest.

Potential Causes

Heart defect
Physical or emotional stress

Signs and Symptoms

Dizziness
Chest pain
Fever and headache
Seizures

Treatment

The most effective treatment of a sudden cardiac arrest is restoring the normal rhythmic heartbeat. This is accomplished by the use of a defibrillator. Here are the steps to take:

Call professional emergency services. If there are other people at the scene, let them call for the emergency helpline as you give CPR.
Ask someone near you to find an AED. AEDs are usually placed in public areas. The AEDs usually have user manuals and diagrams on the side.

After one has successfully survived SCA they need advanced cardiac care.

Prevention Measures

Eat a diet with low fats and rich in fiber
Do exercises regularly
Manage stress and depression
Get a healthy weight and keep it

What Else to Do

Act fast when an emergency arises and be quick to respond to potentially save the life of the victim
Search for the warning signs of an SCA incident and familiarize yourself with the signs
Learn the use of an AED

Professionals in the medical field certify in Basic Life Support or BLS. Doctors and medical assistants need this kind of CPR certification that is linked to their profession. There are people who do not require BLS certification but would need to have CPR training. These people are coaches, teachers, childcare providers, safety officers, and personal trainers. This means that people who are not in the medical field but can do CPR do not necessarily need BLS certification. Verified providers offer courses to get BLS certification online. Here is a list of professions that need a BLS certificate.

Nurses and Doctors

Nurses and doctors are required to have BLS certification when they want to practice CPR in the hospital. It is not a top-level certification of life support for them because there is a certification called ACLS or Advanced Cardiac Life Support. This certification is for those who specialize in emergency medicine and critical care. BLS is a certification that is for all providers of medicine.

Medical Assistants

It is common in hospitals to have medical assistants that have BLS certificates. They work with nurses and doctors, direct medication, record vital signs, discuss medical histories, and give injections for patients. They are not the first people to respond to emergency cases but they are ready and on hand when needed. So they need to know how to administer rudimentary life support when there is an emergency.

Dentists

When dentists need to renew their dentistry license, they need to have a specific amount of education hours. This includes BLS certification if the Dental Board in the state where they work counts it for education hours.

EMTs and Paramedics

EMTs and paramedics are one of the first responses when there is an emergency and they need to provide life support skills to victims. BLS certification is the initial training for those who specialize in emergency care like paramedics. Advanced paramedics have the training of emergency care and life support at advanced levels.

Firefighters

Firefighters are included when you talk about professionals that save lives and they also need a BLS certificate. This is because their field of work needs to do emergency care just like EMTs in hospitals. Firefighters who need BLS certificates are the volunteer and professional firefighters. There are some fire stations that need their firefighters to have paramedic certification so BLS certification is essential to have.

Police Officers

Policemen do not specialize in the field of medicine but they are the first to react in an emergency case. Time is of the essence so police officers must act and provide life support care to the victims until medical help arrives. Requirements for being a police officer depend on the state but it is essential to have First Aid certification, CPR, or BLS certification. The difference between BLS and general CPR is that BLS is advanced training and it is accepted by all departments.

If you are a medical professional or your profession requires you to save lives then it is worth to get BLS certification online and to be able to save more lives. It depends on the requirements of your profession but it is worth noting that your resume includes BLS certification.