- What You Are Actually Studying For
- How Assessment Really Works
- The 12 Course Topics, Domain by Domain
- Adult CPR and AED: The Skills Test Centerpiece
- Optional Child and Infant Components
- Opioid, Drowning, Heart Attack and Stroke
- Course Format Checklist Before You Book
- A Domain-Based Review Schedule
- Cost, Card Validity and Renewal
- Claims You Can Safely Ignore
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Heartsaver CPR AED is an AHA course-completion card, not a stand-alone written certification exam.
- You must satisfactorily perform the Adult CPR and AED Skills Test; online study alone is never enough.
- If an employer requires the optional written exam, the AHA policy requires at least 84% and allows reference materials.
- Domains 3, 4, 6 and 7 (child and infant topics) are optional; the other topics are required.
What You Are Actually Studying For
Before opening any study material, get the target right. Heartsaver CPR AED is an American Heart Association course aimed at people with little or no medical training: teachers, office staff, coaches, community volunteers and workplace responders. Completing it earns a course-completion card. AHA is explicit that this card documents satisfactory performance at the end of the course, and distinguishes it from certifying someone in CPR.
That distinction shapes everything about how you should prepare. Many learners search for "Heartsaver CPR AED practice test" expecting a hard, timed, multiple-choice gate. In reality the main hurdle is a hands-on demonstration on a manikin. If you want the broader picture of what the credential is and is not, our explainer What Is Heartsaver CPR AED Certification? covers the basics, and Heartsaver CPR AED Requirements 2026 addresses eligibility. There is no prior credential, degree or experience requirement, and AHA sets no minimum learner age, although you must be able to demonstrate the required skills.
How Assessment Really Works
The AHA completion requirements for this course are straightforward:
- Complete the applicable course curriculum.
- Satisfactorily perform the Adult CPR and AED Skills Test.
- If child and infant components are taught, also perform the Child CPR and Infant CPR Skills Tests.
A written exam is optional. It exists for employers or regulators that ask for one. When it is administered, current policy sets a minimum score of 84%, allows reference materials (the student workbook or eBook, your notes and the guidelines), and uses scenario-style questions. AHA does not mandate a completion time. Discussion with other students or the instructor is prohibited during the exam. The faculty guide describes classroom administration of the exam even for learners who completed an online portion first.
Equally important is what is not publicly known. The exact number of questions on the CPR AED written form, the scored versus unscored breakdown and a complete format specification are not publicly verified. A faculty-guide range of 10 to 25 questions describes five Heartsaver exam forms collectively, so it should not be read as the count for this course. AHA also does not publish a pass rate for the course. For a deeper look at those gaps, see Heartsaver CPR AED Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and Heartsaver CPR AED Passing Score 2026.
Key Takeaway
Spend most of your preparation time on physical skill rehearsal. Treat the written exam as a conditional extra: ask your employer or Training Center early whether one is required for your card.
The 12 Course Topics, Domain by Domain
The AHA Heartsaver Instructor Manual lists topics for each course path. For CPR AED, twelve headings apply. They are unweighted preparation topics, and AHA publishes no percentage weights, so do not assume any one carries more of a score than another. The full list is mapped in Heartsaver CPR AED Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas. In short:
| Domain | Topic | Status in CPR AED path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | Required |
| 2 | Adult CPR AED: Compressions, Breaths, and AED | Required |
| 3 | Child CPR AED: Compressions, Breaths, and AED | Optional |
| 4 | Infant CPR AED: Compressions, Breaths, and AED | Optional |
| 5 | Adult Choking Relief | Required |
| 6 | Child Choking Relief | Optional |
| 7 | Infant Choking Relief | Optional |
| 8 | Opioid-Associated Emergency | Required |
| 9 | Water Competency and Drowning | Required |
| 10 | Heart Attack | Required |
| 11 | Stroke | Required |
| 12 | Conclusion | Required |
Topics marked not applicable for CPR AED in the AHA table, including the separate First Aid curriculum (bleeding, burns, sudden illness and similar), are excluded. If a study site is teaching you splinting or burn care, it has drifted into a different course.
Adult CPR and AED: The Skills Test Centerpiece
Domain 2: Adult CPR AED: Compressions, Breaths, and AED
This is the topic the Adult CPR and AED Skills Test is built around, so it deserves the bulk of your hands-on practice.
- Recognizing an unresponsive adult who is not breathing normally, and activating emergency response
- Positioning and delivering high-quality chest compressions on a firm surface
- Giving breaths with a barrier device, then returning promptly to compressions
- Turning on the AED, attaching pads, following voice prompts and clearing the patient before a shock
- Resuming compressions immediately after the AED instructs you to
Follow your instructor's feedback on rate, depth and recoil, and use the manikin's feedback devices if your class has them. Specific numeric targets belong to the current 2025 AHA Guidelines as taught in your course materials; check your eBook rather than relying on a memorized number from an older source. Since March 1, 2026, U.S. Training Centers are required to teach with 2025 materials, so a deck or video from the previous guideline cycle may contradict what your instructor expects.
Choking relief for adults
Domain 5 covers recognizing severe airway obstruction in an adult and delivering relief, and what to do if the person becomes unresponsive. Practice the hand positions with your instructor, since this is a physical skill, not a vocabulary exercise.
Optional Child and Infant Components
Domains 3, 4, 6 and 7 cover child and infant CPR, AED use and choking relief. Whether they appear in your class depends on your employer's needs and how your instructor configures the course. If they are taught, the Child CPR and Infant CPR Skills Tests apply as well.
Domains 3, 4, 6 and 7: Child and Infant Topics
These differ from the adult versions in technique, not in the basic priority of getting effective compressions going quickly.
- Child CPR and AED use, including any pad or setting adjustments your AED and course materials describe
- Infant CPR technique, which uses different hand positioning from adult and child CPR
- Infant AED use as covered in the optional course material
- Child and infant choking relief, which differs in technique from adult relief
Teachers, childcare workers and parents commonly want these modules. Someone whose workplace only serves adults may skip them. Confirm in advance, because the optional modules change both the course length and the number of skills tests you must pass.
Opioid, Drowning, Heart Attack and Stroke
Four required topics round out the course and are the areas that older, generic CPR prep pages most often miss.
Domain 8: Opioid-Associated Emergency
Learn to recognize a possible opioid overdose (unresponsiveness with absent or abnormal breathing), call for help and begin the response taught in your course, including how it connects to CPR when the person is not breathing normally.
Domain 9: Water Competency and Drowning
Know the concept of water competency and how drowning emergencies are handled by lay rescuers. Pay attention to the priority placed on breathing in drowning situations as your course materials present it.
Domains 10 and 11: Heart Attack and Stroke
These are recognition-and-response topics: learn the warning signs, why calling emergency services quickly matters and what a bystander should do while waiting. Use the stroke warning-sign framework taught in your course, and be able to describe it in your own words.
Course Format Checklist Before You Book
The most common mistake is treating the online purchase as the finish line. AHA delivers Heartsaver CPR AED through several routes, and each ends with a hands-on skills demonstration:
- Classroom: instructor-led, with video, practice and skills testing in one session.
- Blended learning: you finish the online portion first, then complete hands-on practice and testing with an instructor.
- Self-guided (Heartsaver Direct): online learning followed by warm-up, practice and skills testing at a manikin training station.
- Virtual: AHA's Heartsaver Virtual permits instructor-observed hands-on completion using a training kit and feedback app, so attending a shared classroom is not universal.
Online study alone is insufficient for the card. Before paying, confirm three things with the provider: that the booked configuration issues the exact Heartsaver CPR AED card (not a First Aid combination you do not need), whether child and infant modules are included, and whether your employer requires the optional written exam. Our overview Heartsaver CPR AED Training goes further into formats.
A Domain-Based Review Schedule
Because most of the course is skill-based, a short, schedule beats cramming. This timeline assigns domains to weeks based on how much physical rehearsal each needs.
Orientation and Adult Core
- Read Domain 1 and the adult portions of Domain 2 in your eBook
- Learn the sequence from recognition to AED use, then rehearse it aloud
Choking and Optional Modules
- Review Domain 5 adult choking relief
- If your class includes them, study Domains 3, 4, 6 and 7 side by side with adult techniques
Emergency Recognition Topics
- Cover Domains 8 through 11: opioid emergency, drowning, heart attack and stroke
- Practice scenario questions, noting the workbook page for each answer
Hands-On Completion
- Re-run the adult sequence once more before testing
- Ask your instructor to flag any technique feedback before the skills test
For a quick single-page recap close to test day, pair this plan with the Heartsaver CPR AED Cheat Sheet. To gauge your readiness for scenario questions, try the free practice tests on our main site.
Cost, Card Validity and Renewal
Pricing has several separate components, which is why a single "exam fee" does not exist for this course. The official ShopCPR listing for 2025 Heartsaver CPR AED Online (product 25-1401) shows USD $19.50 for the online portion, including the student eBook. This was released October 22, 2025, and replaces product 20-1401. The required hands-on skills session is purchased separately, and independent Training Centers set their own all-inclusive and renewal fees. No national member or non-member rates were verified. For a fuller breakdown, see Heartsaver CPR AED Certification Cost 2026.
| Cost Component | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Online portion | Official listing shows USD $19.50 including the student eBook |
| Hands-on skills session | Purchased separately; price set by the Training Center |
| All-inclusive classroom course | Price varies by Training Center |
| Renewal | Arranged and priced by your Training Center |
The card is valid for two years through the end of the issue month, and renewal options are arranged with the Training Center. No separate continuing-education maintenance quota was verified for this card. As for timing, the AHA course FAQ estimates 1.5 hours of instructor-led instruction for the required topics, excluding optional topics and breaks. Treat that as instructional time, not an exam timer, because real sessions vary with configuration. See also Heartsaver CPR AED Exam Dates 2026 for scheduling guidance.
Claims You Can Safely Ignore
Several test-prep pages publish statements about this course that do not match AHA's own policy. Watch for these:
- "Every Heartsaver learner takes a timed, proctored, closed-book written exam." AHA treats the written exam as optional, and reference materials are allowed when it is given.
- "The exam has exactly 20 questions." An exact question count for this course is not publicly verified.
- "99% pass rate" or "100% pass guarantee." These are local provider marketing statements, not AHA statistics. AHA does not publish a pass rate for the course.
- "Heartsaver certification raises your salary." No Heartsaver-specific earnings premium has been verified. The card is generally a workplace requirement or qualification, not a standalone occupation. See Heartsaver CPR AED Salary Guide 2026 and Is the Heartsaver CPR AED Certification Worth It? for a sourced discussion.
If you are comparing credentials, remember that Heartsaver CPR AED targets lay rescuers, while BLS is aimed at healthcare providers. Confirm which card your employer or program names before you book. Our overview of Heartsaver CPR AED Jobs describes the kinds of roles where it is commonly requested, though acceptance always depends on the employer or regulator.
Frequently Asked Questions
A written exam is optional under AHA policy and is mainly used when an employer or regulator requests it. If it is administered, the policy requires at least 84%, allows reference materials and imposes no AHA-mandated completion time. The exact question count for this course is not publicly verified.
No. Online study alone is insufficient. You must also satisfactorily perform the Adult CPR and AED Skills Test in a hands-on setting, whether classroom, blended, self-guided at a manikin station or instructor-observed virtual completion with a training kit.
Domains 3, 4, 6 and 7 (child and infant CPR AED, child choking relief and infant choking relief) are optional. When they are taught, the Child CPR and Infant CPR Skills Tests apply. The other listed topics are required in this course path.
The card is valid for two years through the end of the issue month. Renewal options, requirements and prices are arranged through your AHA Training Center, so contact them before your card lapses.
AHA does not publicly disclose a pass rate for this course. Percentages advertised by local providers are marketing claims and should not be treated as official statistics.
In short, passing on your first attempt comes down to confirming your exact course configuration, rehearsing the adult CPR and AED sequence until it is smooth, learning the four emergency-recognition topics well enough to find answers fast, and checking with your employer whether the optional written exam applies. For a refresher on the fundamentals, revisit What Is Heartsaver CPR AED? or return to the Heartsaver CPR AED Study Guide hub.