Frequently Asked Questions


General Troubleshooting Tips MAC Troubleshooting Tips
Why do I need to log in/what does my username and password mean to me
What are the different areas of the Professional Education Center
How to use the Professional Education Center
How to register for an offering
How do I claim my certificate (CME/CE/Attendance)
How do I update the information on my certificate
How do I view my history or reprint my certificate
What are vouchers and how do I use them
NIH Stroke Scale Course Tips
Spotlight Series Information
How do I get help

General Troubleshooting Tips:


What browser should I use?

You must use the browser Internet Explorer (IE) to claim and print certificates on our site. Firefox or Netscape will not allow printing. You cannot be inside AOL and work on our web site, so open an Internet Explorer Window outside of AOL as their security is too high. There should be an Internet Explorer link on your desktop or you can go to the start button at bottom left of your screen and then select Programs to find it.

What are your website requirements?

The website requires a user to have Internet Explorer, Windows Media, and Active X settings. The end user should have a DSL or Cable connection for most of our online courses. Some courses may require Java.

I am unable to submit my answers to the survey questions or claim my certificate.

If you are running a Macintosh Operating System with Internet Explorer 5.2 as your browser, you might experience technical issues when you submit your survey responses. Please refer to the questions above regarding website requirements.

I click on a link and nothing happens. How can I access these sections?

There may be occasions when you click on a link inside the Professional Education Center and nothing seems to happen. The issue may be related to the pop-up blocker installed on your computer. In order to get around this issue, hold the Ctrl key when you click on the link. The Ctrl key will disable your pop-up blocker for this one instance and the window should appear. Instead of disabling your pop-up blocker permanently, just hold the Ctrl key each time a window does not appear for you.

What do I do if I get a "you are already logged in message" message.

If you get a message stating that "you are already logged in" click on the HOME button on the top of the web page, not the browser home button. Then click on the Professional Education Center Banner under the sign in box and it will take you back to My Current Enrollments.

What do I do if I get a message that reads "Too Many Login Attempts, Please click Forgotten your username or password" and my new password won’t work?

After receiving the email with your new password, you will need to close the current browser you are working in and open a new one. You may need to wait approximately 10-15 minutes before attempting to log in again.

What does duplicate enrollment mean?

A duplicate enrollment means that you have already enrolled in the event. If you get this message while trying to enroll you should find this enrollment under your Current Enrollment tab.

MAC Troubleshooting Tips:


I am unable to submit my answers to the survey questions or claim my certificate.

If you are running a Macintosh Operating System with Internet Explorer 5.2 as your browser, you might experience technical issues when you submit your survey responses. In order to submit your survey, you can complete either of the following 2 options:


Why do I need to log in/what does my username and password mean to me:


Why do I have to log in to enroll in an offering?

You must log in to the my.americanheart.org portal in order for the Professional Education Center to assign the appropriate certificates or price that are based on a combination of your profile values. This also allows American Heart to maintain your transcript for your future reference.

What are the different areas of the Professional Education Center:


What is the Professional Education Center?

It is a learning management system that allows you to access many of the association's current educational offerings:


After attending or completing an educational offering you may claim your continuing education credit hours and print a CME/CE Certificate. The Professional Education Center will track your participation and you may return any time to view your transcript or reprint a certificate.

What is My Current Enrollments?

My Current Enrollments on the left menu displays a list of offerings in which you are currently enrolled. Select any of these offerings to see course material or to work through the activities associated with the offering.

What is the Catalog of Offerings?

Before you enroll in an online course or register to attend a live event, you can view the list of available offerings and review general information.

To browse through the available offerings:

  1. Click "Catalog of Offerings" on the left menu. The Catalog page appears. This page lists the types of offerings that are available.
  2. Navigate through the catalog to locate the specific educational offering you are interested in.
  3. Click the offering "more info" link to display additional information such as learning objectives, amount of continuing education credit available, and logistical information.
  4. Click the "Enroll" link to begin a course or register for a live event.

What is the Advanced Search?

Advanced Search enables you to find educational offerings based on a number of different search criteria.

To search for an offering:

  1. Click "Advanced Search" on the left menu. A Search page appears. You can search for courses based on Title, Description, Location, Keywords, Format and Credit Type. You can use partial names in the search. For example, enter cardio in the search field to locate all course titles that include cardio, such as Cardiovascular, Cardiology, and so on.
  2. When you finish entering search criteria, click Search. A list of offerings and schedule appears that match the search criteria you specified.

What is My Transcript?

When you complete an offering, it will be automatically added to your transcript. After you have claimed a continuing education certificate, your transcript will be automatically updated with the claimed CME/CE credits.

How to use the Professional Education Center:


How do I download Course Materials?

Step 1 - From your My Current Enrollments screen, click Select in the Select Offering column on the desired offering.

Step 2 – Course information, details and activities within the offering will appear.

Step 3 – If there are materials available for download, a table titled "Reference Material Available for Download" will be visible below your Activities. The title of the associated reference material will be listed along with the format of the content (for example, Word).

Step 4 – In the Download column, click on the Download logo.

Step 5 – You will be asked to Open or Save the reference material. If you click Open, the material will open for you automatically. If you click Save, you will be asked to specify a location to save it. Once you specify the location, click Save. Once the materials have been downloaded to your computer, click Open to open the materials or Close to close the window and reference the materials later.

Step 6 – After you have opened or saved the material(s), click on the Close Window button to return to the offering.

How to register for an offering:


I have enrolled in an offering, now what do I do?

From your My Current Enrollments screen, select the offering. A screen will open displaying the elements of the course. Select an element to view the content or complete an activity.

How is the registration fee determined for each offering?

If pricing discounts apply for specific offerings, your registration fee is determined by a combination of your my.americanheart.org portal profile values. The pricing discounts can be determined by a combination of your professional membership level and membership status, your classification and secondary classification and/or your Customer Segment (for non-members). If you qualify for multiple pricing discounts, you will be given the lowest possible price. Examples of registration fee reductions include Early Career or Student discounts or discounts for Nurses and EMT/Paramedics.

What does duplicate enrollment mean?

A duplicate enrollment means that you have already enrolled in the event. If you get this message while trying to enroll you should find this enrollment under your Current Enrollment tab.

How do I claim my certificate (CME/CE/Attendance):


How do I Claim and Print Certificates?

For any offering that has been completed satisfactorily a link is available to initiate the certificate interface.

This interface was designed to enable you to print certificates associated with your educational activities. Please review the instructions and information below prior to claiming your certificate.

Step 1 - Click on the drop down field "Select Certificate" to choose which type of certificate you want to print. After you select the certificate – you will be taken to a preview screen for that certificate.

Step 2 - In the field marked "Hours" enter the actual amount of time you spent in the educational activity. Please enter the time to the closest 15-minute increment.

For example:


Step 3 - Click the "Update Button". The certificate screen will refresh and as applicable will reflect the calculated CME/CE credit hours awarded based upon the time claimed.

Step 4 - Click the "Claim and Print Certificate" Button. You will then need to click the print button on your computer when prompted.

Please note:

Once you claim and print your certificate you will not be able to modify the amount of time you have claimed in the Hours field. You will be able to reprint your certificate as many times as you like, but you will not be able to claim any additional CME/CE credit time.

Step 5 - When you are finished printing your certificate, you can exit this interface system by closing the browser window. You will still be signed-in to the American Heart Association website. If you want to print a different certificate, simply select it from the "Select Certificate" drop down window.

If you have questions about any individual certificate, click the Help link at the top of the page. Additional information about each certificate type is available.

When I attempt to Claim my CME/CE, why does the system not open my Certificate screen?

Your browser may be blocking the popup. Hold down your Ctrl key while clicking on the hyperlink "Claim CME/CE". The Ctrl key temporarily disables all pop-up blockers.

Why am I not seeing the certificates that I need?

The certificates available to you depend upon the Classification and Secondary Classification that you specify in your my.americanheart.org portal profile. For example, if you need a nursing continuing education certificate, your registration profile must reflect "Nurse" in one of the classification fields.

Step 1 - Log in to the my.americanheart.org portal and click on Member Summary. Step 2 - Next, click on Edit Membership Benefits.

Step 3 - Update your Classification and Secondary Classification values and update any other information necessary.

Step 4 – Click Save.

Step 5 – Return to the offering within the Professional Education Center. Your certificate should now reflect the updated information.

Which certificate do I claim?

Your certificate will depend on your classification. The most common certificates claimed are the following:


If your classification is not any of the above please contact our customer support at 1-888-242-2453 or learn@heart.org.

How do I update my information:


I have updated all my information in the my.americanheart.org portal, and I am still not seeing my correct information (for example, my name or degrees on my certificate), correct certificates or the correct price in the Professional Education Center.

Step 1 – You need to log in to the my.americanheart.org portal and make sure that all your profile information is up to date.

Step 2 – Click on Edit Membership Benefits.

Step 3 – Update any information necessary.

Step 4 – Click Save.

Step 5 – Return to the offering within the Professional Education Center. Your certificate should now reflect the updated information.

Why is my information not showing up correctly on my certificate?

Step 1 – You need to log in to the my.americanheart.org portal and make sure that all your profile information is up to date.

Step 2 – Click on Edit Membership Benefits.

Step 3 – Update any information necessary (including Name, Lineage and Degrees).

Step 4 – Click Save.

Step 5 – Return to the offering within the Professional Education Center. Your certificate should now reflect the updated information.

How do I view my history or reprint my certificate:


How to I reprint my certificate?

On the My Transcript screen, click on the "Completed Satisfactorily" link in the Final Results column. The Select Certificate screen will appear and allow you to select which certificate you wish to reprint.

On my transcript, why does "Completed Unsatisfactorily" appear in within an offering and what do I need to do to fix this?

Completed Unsatisfactorily will appear on your Transcript if on you did not pass meet the minimum requirements for completion within the offering. You may continue with any of the activities or steps within the offering or re-take a learning assessment test to change this status.

What are vouchers and how do I use them:


What is a voucher?

A voucher is a registration code or set of codes that allow a user to purchase bulk enrollments. For example, if a hospital team wants to purchase enough registrations for the entire team they can select the offering for hospital team/voucher purchase and select the amount of vouchers he/she wishes to purchase. This does not complete the registration process. An email is then sent to the individual with the registration codes listed. These codes must be distributed to the team member and each team member must log in or create an account and enroll in the desired course. Each member will then use the registration/voucher code as their method of payment.

NIH Stroke Scale Course


Why is there a need for a "grace period" between each NIHSS test groups?

The "grace period" is required so that adequate practice of the Stroke scale is administered and is deemed appropriate.

What is the time period between each NIHSS test group?

After passing Group A, you must wait at least 6 months before taking Group B.

After passing Group B, you must wait at least12 months before taking Group C.

Each additional module thereafter will follow the same 12 month interval.


For more information on the NIHSS please click on the "More Info" link prior to enrolling in the course located in the Catalog of offerings.

How much bandwidth would one user take up while doing the NIHSS on our website?

The bandwidth while watching one video in the NIHSS course is less than 230Kbps.

Why is there an extra enrollment for the NIHSS in my transcript?

Due to the required "grace period" we are unable to list each NIHSS test group in our catalog. The extra enrollment serves as a placeholder in the catalog so a user can enroll in the course and then reconcile his/her account. The reconciled or new account then reflects the appropriate test group.

Spotlight Series


How do I get more information on the Spotlight Series?

To get more information on the spotlight series please go to www.spotlight.heart.org.

How do I get help:


I am having technical difficulties, how do I get help?

If you are having difficulty with this system, please contact the American Heart Association help desk at 1-888-242-2453 or through email at learn@heart.org.