This is a continuing education and recertification course for EMTs. It covers fundamental EMT-Basic concepts and terminology as well as advanced material. We highly recommend completing the case studies and practice exam before completing the exam.

We also recommend that you review an EMT textbook chapter covering cardiovascular emergencies as a refresher before taking the exam; for example: Chapter 12 in Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured, 9th edition (AAOS).

The Elaboration links that appear throughout this course will display more information about the topic. Their purpose is to elaborate on the topic to help ensure you can meet course objectives.

External links are for the purpose of expanding basic EMT knowledge. These optional external websites have been reviewed and are appropriate for EMT continuing education. The course exams do not cover material from the external links.

View print version — A text-based version of this course available for printing on the Downloads page. This printable version contains most of the content of the online course but does not include any of the interactive questions or exercises.

This course requires Adobe Flash Player 9 (or higher). Click here to install it free of charge.

Practical Skills
To receive CBT or OTEP credit for this course a trained skills evaluator must evaluate your ability to perform the following hands-on practical skills.

• focused history using SAMPLE/OPQRST technique
• assisting with nitro
• ausculation technique and assessing breath sounds
• assisting ventilations with BVM
• care for acute coronary syndrome, CHF, aortic dissection, cardiogenic shock
• use of AED

Click here to download the skills checklist for this course (click "2009 CBT/OTEP Skills Checklists").

CBT434 is an online EMS continuing education module for EMS providers. After completing this course you will be able to:

1. Identify the structures of the thoracic cavity.
2. Identify the structures of the cardiovascular system.
3. Identify the definition and the causes of myocardial ischemia.
4. Identify the definition of acute coronary syndrome.
5. Identify the five sources of chest pain.
6. Distinguish between the five common cardiovascular emergencies.
7. Identify examples of atypical presentations of AMI.
8. Demonstrate knowledge of medical history gathering techniques by identifying questions used in the OPQRST method.
9. Identify the principles of emergency medical care of the patient experiencing chest pain/discomfort.

Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements Seattle/King County EMS would like to thank Propaganza for their help with developing the Flash interactions for this course.

Image Credits: All images (photos, illustrations and animations) used for this course were produced by Seattle/King County EMS, with the exceptions of those listed below: