CPR and AED Training Tools
These tools and resources share one goal – teaching people how to save a life. We’ve gathered these resources from experts throughout the community to make the information easy to find and share through your school or community program.
CPR and AED instructions
Remember these 3 steps for CPR and AED use
- Call 9-1-1 and ask someone to get an AED
- Push hard and fast on the middle of the chest
- If AED is available, follow verbal instructions
Watch this video to learn how to perform CPR and use an AED
This video shows the use of rescue breaths that would be performed during CPR provided by a healthcare professional in a medical setting. A bystander without medical training who is providing CPR does not need to perform these breaths.
Keep the beat
Songs that are 100 beats per minute (BPM) can help people remember the beat/frequency of performing CPR. The American Heart Association uses Stayin’ Alive as an example. They also have a Spotify playlist of 100 BPM songs. Check out the AHA’s collection of hands-only CPR demos and videos.
Student projects
Our Student Program for Olympic Resuscitation Training in Schools (SPORTS) Study showed that students who participated in their own CPR/AED educational programs had better retention of CPR and AED skills after a year than those reported after use of currently available educational materials.
Check out our student projects section for examples of songs created by students and teachers as part of their school’s SPORTS Study participation.
American Heart Association Hands-Only CPR campaign
American Heart Association 2010 CPR guidelines
This video explains the 2010 Guidelines for CPR released on October 18, 2010. New guidelines are coming out in 2015, so stay tuned for updates.
Red Cross CPR and first aid classes
The Red Cross offers combined First Aid/CPR/AED courses that emphasize hands-on learning to give you the skills to save a life. Course options include those designed specifically for high school and college students.
Be the Beat
Be the Beat is an online resource from the American Heart Association that provides free tools and educational resources for teachers and school administrators to use to help start and sustain CPR and AED programs and schools.
Teaching Equipment
It’s important to incorporate hands-on practice during CPR training using durable and reliable equipment. Training equipment can be purchased from a variety of manufacturers or created by your program using materials at your disposal. The following list is intended as a helpful guide for the types of training equipment available to purchase. It is not an endorsement of any particular product.
Manikins and simulators
Often called CPR mannequins, manikins, simulators, or dummies, these life-like training simulators allow you and your students to practice CPR. They are portable and durable so they can be used by all students who are participating in your program.
Various types of manikins and simulators are available through many retailers, including:
CPR training kits
CPR training kits provide an easy watch-and-learn package for educators to use in their programs.
The Family & Friends® CPR Anytime® kit is an “all-in-one” training kit that teaches adult hands-only CPR, child CPR (including delivery of breaths), adult and child choking relief and general AED awareness.
The kit is available through many retailers, including:
AED trainers
AED trainers are also important parts of your overall CPR/AED training and education. AED trainers help prepare students to operate an AED in a cardiac emergency.
An AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses potentially life threatening abnormal heart rhythms and is able to treat them through defibrillation. Defibrillation helps to stop the abnormal heart rhythm to allow the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm. With simple audio and visual commands, AEDs are designed to be simple to use for the layperson.
A shock delivered by an AED within 3-5 minutes has the highest chance to save lives. AEDs should still be used after 5 minutes, but survival rates decrease up to 10 percent with each minute of delay.
AED trainers and supplies are available through many retailers, including:
If you are working with a limited budget, you can use a variety of other materials to create substitute trainers. For example, use field hockey balls to simulate chest compressions.