ACLS Certification Study Guide | Advanced
Cardiac Life Support Algorithms & Emergency
Care Revision Notes for Healthcare Professionals
| 2026 update
You instruct a team member to give 1 mg Atropine IV. Which is the best example of
closed-loop communication? -Answer: C) I’ll draw up 1 mg of Atropine.
What is an effect of excessive ventilation? -Answer: A) Decreased cardiac output.
If a team member is about to make a mistake during a resuscitation attempt, which best
describes the action that the team leader or other team members should take? Answer:
C) Address the team members immediately.
Which best describes this rhythm? -Answer: A) Monomorphic ventricular tachycardia.
For STEMI patient, which best describes the recommended maximum goal time for
emergency department door-to-balloon inflation time for percutaneous coronary
intervention? -Answer: D) 90 minutes.
Which is the maximum interval you should allow for an interruption in chest
compressions? -Answer: A) 10 seconds.
Which is the one way to minimize interruptions in chest compressions during CPR?
Answer: D) Continue CPR while the defibrillator charges.
Which best describes an action taken by the team leader to avoid insufficiencies during a
resuscitation attempt? -Answer: C) Clearly delegate tasks.
Which is an acceptable method of selecting an appropriately sized oropharyngeal
airway? -Answer: A) Measure the corner of the mouth to the angle of the mandible.
You are evaluating a 58-year-old man with chest discomfort. His blood pressure is
92/50 mm Hg, his heart rate is 92/min, his nonlabored respiratory rate is 14
breaths/min, and his pulse oximetry reading is 97%. Which assessment step is most
important now? -Answer: C) Obtaining a 12-lead ECG.
A patient in respiratory distress and with a blood pressure of 70/50 mmHg presents
with the lead IIECG rhythm shown here. Which is the appropriate treatment? Answer:
B) Performing synchronized cardioversion.
pg. 1
, During post-cardiac arrest care, which is the recommended duration of targeted
temperature management after reaching the correct temperature range? -Answer: B)
At least 24 hours.
Three minutes into a cardiac resuscitation attempt, one member of your team inserts an
endotracheal tube while another performs chest compressions. Capnography shows a
persistent waveform and a PETCO2 of 8 mmHg. Which is the significance of this
finding? -Answer: A) Chest compressions may not be effective.
Which is the recommended oral dose of aspirin for a patient with a suspected acute
coronary syndrome? -Answer: C) 160 to 325 mg.
A team member is unable to perform an assigned task because it is beyond the team
member’s scope of practice. Which action should the team member take? -Answer: A)
Ask for a new task or role.
As the team leader, when do you tell the chest compressors to switch? -Answer: B)
About every 2 minutes.
You are performing chest compressions during an adult resuscitation attempt. Which
rate should you use to perform the compressions? -Answer: C) 100 to 120/min.
A patient is being resuscitated in a very noisy environment. A team member thinks he
heard an order for 500 mg of amiodarone IV. Which is the best response? -Answer: D)
I have an order to give 500 mg of amiodarone IV.
A patient in stable narrow-complex tachycardia with a peripheral IV in place is
refractory to the first dose of adenosine. Which dose would you administer next?
Answer: B) 12 mg.
A patient has a witnessed loss of consciousness. The lead II ECG reveals this rhythm.
Which is the appropriate treatment? -Answer: C) Defibrillation
Which of these tests should be performed for a patient with suspected stroke within 25
minutes of hospital arrival? -Answer: D) Noncontrast CT scan of the head.
What is the minimum systolic blood pressure one should attempt to achieve with fluid
administration or vasoactive agents in a hypotensive post-cardiac arrest patient who
achieves return of spontaneous circulation? -Answer: D) 90 mm Hg.
You have completed 2 minutes of CPR. The ECG monitor displays the lead II rhythm
shown here, and the patient has no pulse. Another member of your team resumes chest
compressions, and an IV is in place. What do you do next? -Answer: C) Give
epinephrine 1 mg IV.
pg. 2
Cardiac Life Support Algorithms & Emergency
Care Revision Notes for Healthcare Professionals
| 2026 update
You instruct a team member to give 1 mg Atropine IV. Which is the best example of
closed-loop communication? -Answer: C) I’ll draw up 1 mg of Atropine.
What is an effect of excessive ventilation? -Answer: A) Decreased cardiac output.
If a team member is about to make a mistake during a resuscitation attempt, which best
describes the action that the team leader or other team members should take? Answer:
C) Address the team members immediately.
Which best describes this rhythm? -Answer: A) Monomorphic ventricular tachycardia.
For STEMI patient, which best describes the recommended maximum goal time for
emergency department door-to-balloon inflation time for percutaneous coronary
intervention? -Answer: D) 90 minutes.
Which is the maximum interval you should allow for an interruption in chest
compressions? -Answer: A) 10 seconds.
Which is the one way to minimize interruptions in chest compressions during CPR?
Answer: D) Continue CPR while the defibrillator charges.
Which best describes an action taken by the team leader to avoid insufficiencies during a
resuscitation attempt? -Answer: C) Clearly delegate tasks.
Which is an acceptable method of selecting an appropriately sized oropharyngeal
airway? -Answer: A) Measure the corner of the mouth to the angle of the mandible.
You are evaluating a 58-year-old man with chest discomfort. His blood pressure is
92/50 mm Hg, his heart rate is 92/min, his nonlabored respiratory rate is 14
breaths/min, and his pulse oximetry reading is 97%. Which assessment step is most
important now? -Answer: C) Obtaining a 12-lead ECG.
A patient in respiratory distress and with a blood pressure of 70/50 mmHg presents
with the lead IIECG rhythm shown here. Which is the appropriate treatment? Answer:
B) Performing synchronized cardioversion.
pg. 1
, During post-cardiac arrest care, which is the recommended duration of targeted
temperature management after reaching the correct temperature range? -Answer: B)
At least 24 hours.
Three minutes into a cardiac resuscitation attempt, one member of your team inserts an
endotracheal tube while another performs chest compressions. Capnography shows a
persistent waveform and a PETCO2 of 8 mmHg. Which is the significance of this
finding? -Answer: A) Chest compressions may not be effective.
Which is the recommended oral dose of aspirin for a patient with a suspected acute
coronary syndrome? -Answer: C) 160 to 325 mg.
A team member is unable to perform an assigned task because it is beyond the team
member’s scope of practice. Which action should the team member take? -Answer: A)
Ask for a new task or role.
As the team leader, when do you tell the chest compressors to switch? -Answer: B)
About every 2 minutes.
You are performing chest compressions during an adult resuscitation attempt. Which
rate should you use to perform the compressions? -Answer: C) 100 to 120/min.
A patient is being resuscitated in a very noisy environment. A team member thinks he
heard an order for 500 mg of amiodarone IV. Which is the best response? -Answer: D)
I have an order to give 500 mg of amiodarone IV.
A patient in stable narrow-complex tachycardia with a peripheral IV in place is
refractory to the first dose of adenosine. Which dose would you administer next?
Answer: B) 12 mg.
A patient has a witnessed loss of consciousness. The lead II ECG reveals this rhythm.
Which is the appropriate treatment? -Answer: C) Defibrillation
Which of these tests should be performed for a patient with suspected stroke within 25
minutes of hospital arrival? -Answer: D) Noncontrast CT scan of the head.
What is the minimum systolic blood pressure one should attempt to achieve with fluid
administration or vasoactive agents in a hypotensive post-cardiac arrest patient who
achieves return of spontaneous circulation? -Answer: D) 90 mm Hg.
You have completed 2 minutes of CPR. The ECG monitor displays the lead II rhythm
shown here, and the patient has no pulse. Another member of your team resumes chest
compressions, and an IV is in place. What do you do next? -Answer: C) Give
epinephrine 1 mg IV.
pg. 2
