Frequently Asked Questions

Due to our skills format (and the security policy of our building), we only permit students who have paid for their AHA skills session or course on our site to access our location. Unknown persons are not permitted in our building - no exceptions. While our skills location is one mile from Zilker Park on S Lamar Blvd, we only provide our full address and office number to paid students (this information is found in the email receipt you receive immediately after purchase - check your spam folder if you don't see it right away). Since we do not accept cash, all students must purcahse their AHA course or skills session on our site before coming to our location.

As per AHA's 2020 Guidelines, AHA now offers multiple hybrid options for training. These online hybrid courses are completely equal to an "all in-person class" but allow you to watch the course videos and take the written exam from home prior to your skills session. AHA online hybrid courses provide the exact same official AHA certification eCard as traditional "all in-person classes." If you were told you need an "in-person" course, AHA's online hybrid courses meet your requirement since they include a hands-on skills session.

The two online hybrid format classes offered by AHA through our organization are HeartCode Complete (which includes the skills session) and skills session only (for students who have already completed HeartCode or RQI online). Both courses yield the same 2-year certification eCard after completing the skills session. Sign up by placing payment today: AHA BLS, AHA ACLS, or AHA PALS.

If you registered for a course on AHA's site, you must still place payment on our site and carefully read all instructions in your email receipt. After reading the instructions in your email receipt, you will be permitted to perform skills anytime from 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday, rather than the time you reserved. Select and place payment for HeartCode Complete or a skills session-only on our site: AHA ACLS, BLS, or PALS (NOTE: The skills-session-only option is for students who already completed online HeartCode or online RQI).

For students who have made a purchase on our site, our in-person location in Tampa is open from 9am - 5pm every weekday, all year, with no appointments required. After you finish the online portion of your course, you can come to the in-person location to perform hands-on skills whenever you would like. You can purchase an online course+skills session combo or skills-session only (if you've already completed HeartCode or RQI online) at our Tampa AHA course page.

You are only able to cancel your AHA course registration if you have purchased BLS, ACLS, or PALS HeartCode Complete or skills session and we have not yet sent your course. Once courses are sent to your email, they can no longer be refunded.

Self-paced class times vary based on a number of factors, including knowledge level of the student and how much the student starts and stops their coursework. A BLS class may take 2-4 hours, and an ACLS or PALS class may take 5-8 hours. If you add BLS to an ACLS or PALS class, that will add 30 minutes to your total class time.

To add BLS to an ACLS or PALS class, just click the "Add BLS to ACLS/PALS Full class" button at the top of either the ACLS or PALS page. This will extend your ACLS or PALS skills session by 30 minutes.

To maximize savings, we recommend our ACLS and PALS combo courses, and you can also add BLS to an ACLS or PALS class by clicking the "Add BLS to ACLS/PALS Full class" button at the top of either the ACLS or PALS page.

Absolutely! If you have already done the online HeartCode class and just need the skills session, our BLS, ACLS, and PALS skills sessions allow students to perform multiple skills sessions at the same time. View the bottom of each page to add AHA skills sessions to your cart for checkout.

If you have not yet finished the online HeartCode class, consider our HeartCode Complete options, which include the online class.

All HeartCode Complete courses (BLS, ACLS, and PALS) include two years of access to the eBook. If you prefer to access the eBook outside of your online course, you can also purchase one separately on our AHA course books page. Note that eBooks are emailed after purchase - typically within 6 hours of purchase. The American Heart Association recommends that students have access to the provider manual for their course before, during, and after the course video portion.

Absolutely! Simply add the course(s) to your cart, check out, and then send the name and email address of any additional student to us at help(at)tampacprclass.org.

The AHA requires that every student watch all the course videos and undergo testing (including skills-based testing) every two years - which can be done via an online hybrid course (HeartCode) class. We especially recommend our HeartCode Complete class for renewal students.

The term "BLS for Healthcare Providers" was discontinued by AHA in 2015, and the name of the class and certification was changed to simply "BLS" (Basic Life Support). If your school or workplace told you to get a "BLS for Healthcare Providers" certification, please encourage them to update their terminology to "BLS." We are also happy to contact them for you and make that suggestion.

There is no such thing as a "BLS for Non-Healthcare Providers" class. Instead, the AHA course that is designed for laypersons is called "HeartSaver CPR." That being said, anyone can take a BLS course. Even though it includes more information than the HeartSaver class, there are no pre-requisites for BLS enrollment.

After you have passed all requirements of your course, you will receive an email from AHA that allows you to go through the process to claim and download your eCard. This email may take a couple hours to arrive to your inbox. AHA's eCard system will ask you accept their terms and fill out an optional survey, and then you may download your eCard in two different formats, which you can email to a school or employer, or upload to a job application.

If you did not purchase your HeartCode or RQI class on our site, the money you paid for the online HeartCode went to AHA corporate in Dallas, and not the actual training site/center that issues certification cards. We must also collect a payment to cover the costs of providing your skills session. To pay for your skills session, click "sign up" above, and then scroll to the bottom of the ACLS, BLS, or PALS page to find the skills sessions.

We understand the world of AHA training can be confusing for people who are new to it, especially when your school or employer has terrified you by claiming it's possible you may wind up in a fake CPR class and receive a fake certification. We are an official AHA Training Site, and yes all our cards are official AHA certifications.

AHA BLS fulfills almost every CPR requirement in the country. It is a robust course that includes CPR for adults, children, and infants, AED use, airway and breathing information, and first aid info like how to clear choking. It fulfills the CPR requirement for nurses, child care providers, physical therapists, teachers, EMS personnel, and everyone else.

That being said, if you've been told by your employer that you specifically need a Heartsaver First Aid course (which includes care for bleeding and other traumatic injuries), we do not currently offer that course.

No, and no. You must pay on our website. Click sign up at the top of the page to find a class and pay.

You may visit our BLS Instructor course page or ACLS Instructor course page to see if you qualify to become an Instructor. As of August 2024, we are only accepting Instructor Candidates who are teaching for a care facility, educational institution, company, or other approved organization. We are not currently accepting independent instructors who wish to teach as entrepreneurs. We now require new instructor candidates to send in a badge or other work document to prove the organizational role for which they need to become an instructor (otherwise your instructor course purchase will be refunded).

If you're interested in aligning and affiliating with Thri Tampa, please contact us at help(at)tampacprclass.org. If you receive an automated response related to provider courses, please disregard. We will provide a personal response to your message in less than two days. Please note that, as of August 2024, we are only accepting Instructor Candidates who are teaching for a care facility, educational institution, company, or other approved organization. We are not currently accepting independent instructors who wish to teach as entrepreneurs. We now require new instructor candidates to send in a badge or other work document to prove the organizational role for which they need to become an instructor (otherwise your instructor course purchase will be refunded).

Thri Tampa is not currently offering external AHA ACLS, BLS, and PALS classes. We hope to offer external classes again in the future.