Whether you or not you are a healthcare professional, everyone should take a basic life support (BLS) class at some point in their life. BLS classes can teach you the skills you may someday need in a life-threatening emergency. BLS classes are required for anyone who wants to work in the healthcare field, but is useful for people in any career field. There are many different types of life support classes, but the basic class will teach you the fundamentals of the following:

The Heimlich Maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver is one of the most basic and easy ways to save someone's life. This technique is really useful if someone is choking, but still conscious. A basic life support class will teach you how to wrap your arms around them and where to place your fist to expel the food when you apply pressure. You will have likely seen this maneuver moved in movies when people are choking in restaurants. While extremely effective, the Heimlich maneuver is easy enough that most people will be able to do it effectively. 

CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation has been used for decades. This technique can help to keep people alive when they are unconscious and not breathing. The compressions will help to keep their heart pumping, while any breaths that you administer for the person will hopefully be pumped by their heart to their body and reduce the risk of losing brain cells. While not always effective, CPR is the best technique to use in order to keep someone alive until a trained emergency response team arrives. 

Defibrillation

If someone's heart has stopped beating or the different parts are beating out of sync, they will need to be defibrillated. You can usually find a defibrillator in public places, and at least one in your workplace. There are leads that must be attached to the affected person's chest in specific places, and then while the shock is being administered, you must not touch them. It can sound a little complicated at first, but a basic life support class will teach you everything you need to know. 

In conclusion, taking a basic life support class could someday save the life of a family member or friend. It is definitely worth your time and money, even if you are not pursuing a healthcare-related career. While you may think that you could never save someone's life, the knowledge you gain from a BLS class could do just that.