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Health Ed Solutions (HES) course materials systematically cover ACLS recertification requirements to prepare health care professionals to deal with advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) emergencies. The module descriptions below outline details of the ACLS recertification curriculum, from conditions covered to assessment instructions and recommended treatments. This gives you an idea of the topics covered in each ACLS recertification module. NOTE: ACLS recertification requirements are not represented completely in the following paragraphs. Topics will be addressed more comprehensively in the actual ACLS recertification curriculum.

1. Education & the Team Approach to Emergency Care

ACLS recertification students review the importance of a team approach for successful resuscitation (such as anticipating necessary interventions and communication), which decreases the likelihood of errors during a cardiopulmonary emergency, and increase chances health care will be delivered efficiently. The ACLS recertification curriculum includes a refresher on effective team management skills, as well as review of dynamic case studies.

2. Initial Assessment & Respiratory Support

Participants in this module of the ACLS recertification curriculum learn how to accurately and quickly assess an unresponsive patient. They are reminded to immediately initiate chest compression, then open up an airway and provide sufficient oxygenation and respirations for the patient. In this segment, as recommended in ACLS recertification requirements, students also review the use medical devices for measuring expired carbon dioxide, and for monitoring effectiveness of chest compressions and adequacy of airway and ventilations.

3. Ventricular Fibrillation Treated with CPR and AED

When a person is non-responsive, responders must determine whether they are in pulseless tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The ACLS recertification curriculum material provides a review of the steps for initiating care, which includes getting help, starting CPR, and effectively using an AED. The goal is to perform defibrillation as soon as possible. The reason this has become a part of the ACLS recertification requirements is that restoring a perfusing rhythm gives a patient the best odds of regaining normal functioning of the heart.

4. Ventricular Fibrillation / Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia

The first step in emergency situations involving these conditions, as proscribed by the ACLS recertification requirements, is to determine whether either of the conditions is present. Once participants in this course review how to identify the conditions, they are reminded how to proceed: get help, start CPR, perform defibrillation to restore the heart's rhythm and its ability to function normally to pump blood to all parts of the body. This module of the ACLS recertification curriculum also goes over specific principles for working with a team to manage a patient with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.

5. Pulseless Electrical Activity

As soon as a patient's monitor shows a rhythm, but he or she has no noticeable pulse, it's critical that responders know how to quickly determine the cause of pulseless electrical activity and treat it. The challenge is that each etiology has a different treatment and prognosis. Students who study this ACLS recertification curriculum learn how to assess the patient to determine the cause, then begin treatment right away, including the proper dosage of epinephrine and vasopressin.

6. Asystole

The ACLS recertification curriculum refreshes student's knowledge of asystole and how to tell when a person who isn't responsive is experiencing it. This is done with the ECG. When a flatline is observed, students will know how to evaluate and then quickly provide treatment. According to ACLS recertification requirements, patient care for this condition begins with getting help and beginning CPR. It also includes knowing the right doses and administration of epinephrine and vasopressin.

7. Acute Coronary Syndrome

When a patient has retrosternal chest discomfort (uncomfortable squeezing or pressure), it's possible he or she is experiencing acute coronary syndrome. A student working in this ACLS recertification curriculum will relearn how to analyze the situation and develop a differential diagnosis of chest pain that is life-threatening. As indicated by ACLS recertification requirements, the module stresses early identification, understanding the risk factors, and providing emergency treatment, which might involve using aspirin, oxygen, nitroglycerine, fibrinolytic, morphine, or heparin therapy.

8. Bradycardia

Bradycardia can be lethal, and students working in this ACLS recertification curriculum will be reminded of the symptoms, signs, causes, and treatments to help them address emergency situations in which this condition is an issue. According to ACLS recertification requirements, the first step is to identify atrioventricular (AV) blocks (first, second, and third degree). Then the responder needs to be able to tell the difference between sinus and AV bradycardia. In addition to learning these steps, participants review proper medications (atropine, epinephrine, dopamine) to treat bradycardia. Finally, students review the indications and use of transcutaneous pacing.

9. Stable Tachycardia

Rapid heart rhythms greater than 100 beats per minute mean a patient has tachycardia. Students in this class will review the correct way to evaluate narrow complex tachyarrhythmias, including supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and wide complex tachyarrhythmias, including polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. Participants in this ACLS recertification curriculum also are reminded that treatment must be provided immediately: managing the heart's rhythm, administering drugs and synchronized cardioversion, and providing treatment then monitoring after ACLS treatment.

10. Unstable Tachycardia

As health professionals who have learned these things before, the class attendees review and discuss deeper issues involving the rapid rhythms that denote unstable tachycardia, including symptoms and signs that appear unrelated to the heart rate. Class attendees are reminded how to do an effective evaluation for tachyarrhythmias, indcluding atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, monomorphic ventricular tachycardia, polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, wide complex tachycardia, and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Students working in this ACLS recertification curriculum also learn how to manage rhythms during the emergency. ACLS recertification requirements include knowing how to maintain correct levels for cardioversion, plus administering drugs and synchronized cardioversion. Furthermore, students learn to provide treatment and monitoring after a successful resuscitation.

11. Acute Stroke

To prepare for emergency situations involving acute stroke, students in this module of the ACLS recertification curriculum review the rapid assessment method, as well as the Emergency Medical System and Emergency Department assessment and their role in the evaluation and treatment of stroke patients. We begin by reinforcing the symptoms and signs of an acute stroke, as well as the risk factors. Participants then review indications and contraindications for fibrinolytic therapy and the NINDS time goals. One of the most critical issues in dealing with these patients is the management of elevated blood pressure.

12. Post-Cardiac Arrest Care 

After a patient experiences cardiac arrest, as outlined in ACLS recertification requirements, it's important that health care providers knowledgeably and methodically identify ways to maintain cardiopulmonary function, including vital organ perfusion after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In addition, the goal is to provide care that keeps another cardiac arrest episode from occurring. This is done in part by identifying and treating the conditions that might have caused the initial cardiac arrest. A refresher in ventilation management support assistance and support as a patient is transported to a medical facility are also included to fulfill ACLS recertification requirements.