ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support or Advanced Cardiac Life Support. It refers to the clinical algorithms used by healthcare professionals for treating urgent emergencies. Some of them include strokes and cardiac arrest.
The American Heart Association is the only provider of ACLS certification cards and they do not currently endorse or accredit any online study programme in which all aspects of the course are completed online.
Given that more and more hospitals and institutions are requiring employees to add ACLS to their resume, the demand for certification and renewal classes has risen sharply. In a welcome change, many institutions are nowadays more open to letting their employees use an online provider to update their skills rather than an in-person classroom setting.
The validity of ACLS certification or recertification is for a period of two years, regardless of where one receives certification.