The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross today released the "2024 Guidelines for First Aid," which provide critical updates that equip first aid responders with the latest evidence-based practices to effectively respond to mild, moderate and life-threatening emergencies. The guidelines are published today in Circulation , the American Heart Association's flagship journal. Providing first aid care is about recognizing that an emergency has occurred – that someone is ill or injured – and assessing them and then prioritizing their needs.
First aid training is essential to apply the appropriate knowledge and skills for saving lives and reducing harm. These updates reflect the changing landscape of public health challenges and aim to equip trained professionals and the public with lifesaving skills that are more critical than ever." Elizabeth Hewett Brumberg, M.
D., co-chair of the guidelines writing group and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and member of the Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council These are the first major comprehensive updates to the first aid guidelines since 2010 and address shifts in how the public manages common and critical first aid emergencies. The updated guidelines reaffirm essential strategies for emergency responders that have become common in recent years but have not been formally documented.
For bystanders, the guidelines offer instruction on how to recognize when professional h.
