Basic Life Support

Basic Life Support (BLS) is a certain degree of medical care offered by trained responders, such as emergency medical technicians, prior to delivering the patient to the hospital for more advanced treatment. BLS focuses on three primary areas of concern to sustain life known as "ABC:"

Airway -- protect the airway and maintain airflow using airway adjuncts (e.g., oral or nasal airway) if necessary.
Breathing -- maintain oxygen intake via natural or artificial respiration. An emergency oxygen supply may be required.
Circulation -- verify that the heart is still pumping blood through the circulatory system. CPR may need to be administered if the heart stops beating.

If the patient suffered a traumatic injury, measures should be taken to protect their spinal cord. Splints and immobilizers will help keep the spinal column in place and avoid further injury while transporting the victim to the hospital.

Typically, medication and invasive practices are not a part of the BLS repertoire. Just about anyone can become certified in BLS upon completion of a brief course. Firefighters and police officers usually must be trained in BLS due to the highly unpredictable fields in which they work. BLS is also valuable to know in other lines of work, including daycare, teaching, and security.

Performing CPR on a patient while awaiting the arrival of the emergency responders could be the key to keeping them alive until Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) is accessible. Therefore, if anyone is receiving CPR, someone should simultaneously summon ACLS by calling for help using a radio or by dialing the appropriate emergency telephone number (e.g., 911).

An essential advancement in BLS provision has come in the form of the automated external defibrillator (AED). The ability to carry out defibrillation on a patient can drastically improve a patient's odds of surviving during cardiac arrest.

The most recent BLS manual was released by the American Heart Association in December 2005.

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