What Is ACLS?
ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. It is the American Heart Association course, and the level of care, that takes over where Basic Life Support stops: reading the cardiac rhythm, giving resuscitation drugs, managing the airway, deciding when to shock, pace or cardiovert, and leading the team through an adult cardiac emergency.
ACLS in one sentence
ACLS is advanced adult resuscitation — BLS plus rhythm interpretation, defibrillation decisions, drugs, airway management and team leadership — taught by the American Heart Association to healthcare professionals and certified for two years.
Basic Life Support keeps oxygenated blood moving with chest compressions, ventilation and an AED. ACLS adds the things only a trained clinician with equipment can do: identifying the rhythm on a monitor, choosing between the shockable and non-shockable pathways, giving medications such as adrenaline (epinephrine) and amiodarone, securing and monitoring the airway, and treating the cause of the arrest rather than only its effects.
That is why every ACLS course starts by testing your BLS. Advanced care is only effective if high-quality compressions continue underneath it, with as few interruptions as possible. Our guide to BLS explains that foundation.
The ACLS algorithms guide goes through each pathway in plain language.
ACLS is for professionals who respond to adult cardiovascular emergencies: doctors, nurses in emergency, critical care and theatres, paramedics, and other clinicians named by their employer. It is not a first aid course and it is not designed for the public — if you want to learn to help at home or at work, the first aid course or Heartsaver CPR AED is the right choice. See who needs ACLS in the UAE for role-by-role detail.
Successful students receive the AHA ACLS Provider eCard, valid for two years. It can be verified online by an employer. When it is due, the ACLS renewal guide explains the fastest route.
Other life support and first aid courses: BLS Course · PALS Course · First Aid Course · Training calendar
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support.
It covers more. BLS is a practical skills course; ACLS adds rhythm recognition, drugs, airway management and team leadership, with a written test and a Megacode. Good preparation makes it very manageable.
An American Heart Association training centre issues the AHA ACLS Provider eCard after you pass. Safety First Medical Services is an AHA training centre in Abu Dhabi.
No, ACLS is adult-focused. Paediatric resuscitation is taught in PALS, Paediatric Advanced Life Support.
Many do, especially in emergency, ICU, CCU, theatres and cath labs. Your employer or unit sets the requirement.
Safety First Medical Services is an American Heart Association training centre on Al Reem Island. HeartCode blended ACLS, classroom ACLS and on-site group sessions for hospitals and clinics, with a two-year AHA ACLS Provider eCard on completion.
See ACLS dates and register Classroom ACLS course Group booking enquiry
What we teach follows the awarding body and the UAE health authorities. For the definitive position on a course or licensing question, these are the places to check.
Last reviewed by the training team at Safety First Medical Services, an American Heart Association training centre at Addax Office Tower, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi. Call +971 55 761 9841 or email training@safetyfirstmed.ae.