The American Heart Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke.
The American Heart Association publishes a standard for providing basic and advanced life support, including standards for proper performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The AHA offers the most widely accepted certification for basic life support (BLS). The AHA is now also a provider of training for first aid, in addition to CPR.
The AHA also operates an affiliated organization, the American Stroke Association, which focuses on care, research and prevention of strokes.