American Heart Association logoAmerican Heart Association

Advanced Stroke Life Support® 

Learn more about the new ASLS Blended Learning Course

Advanced Stroke Life Support (ASLS)

With a shared goal of reducing deaths and disabilities for stroke victims, the American Heart Association, in partnership with The University of Miami’s Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Education, has released the new Advanced Stroke Life Support Blended Learning course. This course, now offered as the AHA’s newest card-credentialing course discipline, educates healthcare professionals to identify, evaluate, and manage patients with stroke.

Developed by experts in stroke, emergency medicine, prehospital care, and nursing education, the ASLS curriculum is now widely used by hundreds of hospitals, fire rescue, ambulance and EMS systems, and educational institutions throughout the country and around the globe. The course is also designed to meet the staff education requirements for the premier certifications for stroke systems of care from the Joint Commission’s Advanced Certifications.

ASLS is appropriate for healthcare professionals in both prehospital and in-hospital settings involved in the management of acute stroke patients. This advanced course is ideal for:

  • Stroke Coordinators
  • Nursing Students and Nurses
  • Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
  • Paramedics and Emergency Medical Personnel
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Residents and Fellows
  • Medical Students
  • Respiratory Therapists

Course Format

There are 3 tracks available for students to learn how to assess and manage stroke emergencies: prehospital, in-hospital, and a third track that covers both settings. Learning objectives for these tracks include:

Prehospital Provider Course:

  • Highlights the principles of prehospital stroke management that make up the cur-rent standard of care, such as determining when to call
  • a stroke alert and quickly transport the patient to the nearest appropriate facility
  • Explains how to communicate the patient’s symptoms, time of onset, and neuro-logic exam clearly and succinctly with hospital personnel

In-Hospital Provider Course:

  • Focuses on the importance of an organized approach to treating stroke patients for improved outcomes
  • Discusses the etiologic evaluation and secondary stroke prevention for stroke patients
  • Describes the management of goals for acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage
  • Outlines post-acute care management including supportive medical care, rehabilitation, and discharge planning for stroke patients

Prehospital & In-Hospital Provider Course:

  • Combines all of the components of the Prehospital and In-Hospital courses, and is best suited for healthcare providers who work in both environments, as well as ASLS instructor candidates that will be conducting the in-person skills testing for learners from both audiences

Blended Learning

The ASLS course is now offered in a Blended Learning format, consisting of both an online, self-directed portion, followed by an in-person skills testing session with an ASLS Instructor. In the online component, learners follow a continuously adapting learning path that is personalized by their own inputs, for not only their performance, but also their self-reported confidence levels. In-person skills tests challenge learners to apply the knowledge obtained from the online portion to correctly per-form neurologic exams, diagnose, and manage patients with stroke. Blended learning enables students to learn on their own time, at their own pace, while instructors can focus on the important psychomotor skills testing and ensure that training is consistent.

ASLS Resources

Watch this video to learn more about the course

Download the ASLS Blended Learning FAQs (PDF)  UPDATED 05-05-23

Download the ASLS Blended Learning Course Flyer UPDATED  10-30-23

ASLS Testimonial Videos

Hear from three healthcare professionals who participated in the ASLS Faculty/Instructor Training and learn how the new course will help them in their roles.

Michele Bourgeois, RN

Flight Nurse
Memorial Hermann Life Flight

Kristina Lincoln, RN

Education Resource Specialist
Memorial Hermann Life Flight

Kevin Ramsdell

Deputy EMS Coordinator
LifeLine Ambulance

Adding ASLS to Your Training Center

At this time, the ASLS Blended Learning Course is only available to be added to AHA ACLS Training Centers and Sites providing direct patient care that fall into one of the following categories: hospital systems, EMS or ambulatory, fire rescue, or education (colleges/universities). If you have questions about your Training Center’s eligibility, please contact [email protected] for more information.

If your Training Center is eligible to add the ASLS discipline, please email [email protected] to request an ASLS Application.

Upcoming ASLS Courses

ASLS Instructor and Provider training events are now open for registration for healthcare professionals interested in becoming an ASLS Instructor, or for those looking for a Training Center to complete the classroom session of the ASLS Provider Course. To learn more about these events and requirements to attend, please visit this page.

The Training Center search function on Atlas has now been updated to include ASLS Training Centers. At this time, ASLS classes are not available in the Find a Class tool. Please contact a Training Center near you to see if any ASLS courses are being offered.

To search for an ASLS authorized Training Center, please visit Atlas.heart.org(link opens in new window) and follow these steps:

  • Select Training Resources in the Navigation bar
  • Click Training Center Search
  • Enter your City and State to populate Training Centers in your area
  • Under Filters on the lefthand side where Disciplines are listed, select View More Options and ASLS will appear
  • Click on the box next to ASLS to narrow down the results to ASLS Training Centers and Training Sites

If you are a US-based AHA Instructor or Training Center interested in learning more, complete the form below to receive updates about the course.

If you are an AHA International Training Center or Quality Improvement hospital interested in learning when ASLS will be available in your country, please complete the form on this page for more information.