Guidelines & Policies
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Guidelines and Implementation

HSFC & ILCOR

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada sets the Canadian Guidelines for CPR, defibrillation and other aspects of emergency cardiovascular care in Canada. HSFC is a founding member of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). ILCOR is the international body that reviews emerging resuscitation research and summarizes the latest findings to give direction when there is strong scientific evidence to lead to a Guidelines change. HSFC, in collaboration with the American Heart Association, uses ILCOR’s information to continuously update Guidelines for North America. The 2005 Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care are the current HSFC Guidelines and can be downloaded here. The Guidelines are the foundation for all HSFC CPR courses in Canada. All HSFC courses incorporate the latest evidence in resuscitation science and training. All CPR training agencies in Canada should refer to the Guidelines when developing their own training programs

BLS ABCD Maneuvers
HSFC 2005 Guidelines for BLS

HSFC Implementation of 2005 Guidelines for CPR and ECC - Summary of Steps May 2006

December 2005 Coordinated release of North American Guidelines by HSFC and AHA
May 2006 HSFC release of 2006 BLS for Healthcare Provider course
June 1, 2006 – December 31, 2006

Provincial Heart and Stroke Foundations begin BLS Instructor Updates

  • No BLS instructors may teach the new BLS courses until they have participated in an HSF instructor update session
  • All BLS instructors are required to participate in an update by December 31, 2006
    After January 1, 2007, any HSF BLS instructor who has not participated in an update will be removed from the provincial HSF instructor database
    Existing HSFC BLS courses may be taught until the resources are depleted or through to the end of 2006 at the latest. Following the release of the 2006 BLS courses, it is strongly recommended that the shift to the 2006 BLS courses be made as soon as possible, particularly the shift to new 30:2 compression : ventilation ratio and new AED algorithms
September – December 2006 HSFC release of new Heartsaver, ACLS and PALS courses
Ongoing BLS instructor updates
December 31, 2006 All BLS instructor updates complete
Ongoing ACLS and PALS instructor updates
June 2007 All ACLS and PALS instructor updates complete
  • No ACLS or PALS instructors may teach the new courses until they have participated in an HSF instructor update session
  • All ACLS and PALS instructors are required to participate in HSF instructor update training
  • After June 2007, any HSF ACLS or PALS instructor who has not participated in an update will be removed from the provincial HSF instructor database
2007 - 2010 Periodic and ongoing release of new and revised HSFC Resuscitation courses and training materials
2010 Anticipated release of next version of the North American Guidelines for CPR and ECC

Comparison Chart of Key 2005 Guideline Changes