The ejection fraction (EF) is an important measurement in determining how well your heart is pumping out blood and in diagnosing and tracking heart failure.What it is? A measurement of how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction.What it means.An ejection fraction of 60 percent means that 60 percent of the total amount of blood in the left ventricle is pushed out with each heartbeat. What's normal?

• A normal heart's ejection fraction may be between 55 and 70.
• You can have a normal ejection fraction reading and still have heart failure. If the heart muscle has become so thick and stiff that the ventricle holds a smaller-than-usual volume of blood, it might still seem to pump out a normal percentage of the blood that enters it. In reality, though, the total amount of blood pumped isn't enough to meet your body's needs.

What's too low?

• A measurement under 40 may be evidence of heart failure or cardiomyopathy.
• An EF between 40 and 55 indicates damage, perhaps from a previous heart attack, but it may not indicate heart failure.
• In severe cases, EF can be very low.

What's too high?EF higher than 75 percent could indicate a heart condition like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Tests for measuring EF:

• Echocardiogram
• MUGA scan
• CAT scan
• Cardiac catheterization
• Nuclear stress test 
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So if you would like to take a CPR or first aid class give us a call (503)538-2610

Give them a gift that could save the baby life.

NEW Baby Shower Class: $35.00
We will come to your baby shower and do a 2-3 hour class. At the end everyone will receive a certificate with the option to turn it into an AHA certification.
The Course includes:
Infant CPR
First aid basics (including scene safety, finding the problem, and calling for help)
Medical emergencies (including actions for choking, breathing problems, and shock)
Injury emergencies (including actions for bleeding, broken bones, and burns)
Environmental emergencies (including actions for bites and stings, and temperature-related and poison emergencies)

CPR Northwest
503-538-2610

Wondering how you can keep your child’s school safer for him and his fellow students? If you’re not sure where to start, use the three tips below to get an idea of what to do. In addition to better preparing everyone should an emergency actually occur at school, they’ll give everyone peace of mind that they’re ready to handle the worst if need be.

1. Learn CPR: Make sure teachers are familiar with Advanced Cardiac Life Support Training and Pediatric Advanced Life Support so that they can handle life-threatening situations in case the nurse can’t get there fast enough. Implement a mandatory training program as part of your next teacher workshop day, and keep all staff up to date with refresher courses throughout the year.

2. Make Allergies Known: Being sure that children’s allergies (to food and otherwise) are taken seriously is a key way to avoid unnecessary accidents. Make a peanut-free table in the lunch room for kids who need it, and be sure the lunch monitors strictly enforce the restriction.

3. Keep Emergency Contact Information Up to Date: In this age of advanced technology, it’s easy to go beyond a hand-written emergency contact card for every student. In addition to paper files, make an effort to digitize all emergency contact info, and place it in a publicly available folder for all staff to access at the click of a button.
To learn CPR or first aid call us for a class (503)538-2610

Though you’re pretty sure there’s a fire detector somewhere and you think you heard something about an evacuation plan, you probably aren’t totally sure what would happen were there to be an emergency in your office. If you want to get a jump on safety, try the three tips below to be sure you’re prepared.

1. Offer CPR Training: Being sure everyone in your office is schooled in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Training and Pediatric Emergency Assessment and Recognition can go a long way towards helping you to be set in a worst case scenario. Additionally, employees will take the knowledge home with them, helping to make the world a safer place outside of the office.

2. Have a phone tree: If there’s an emergency event at the office that needs to be communicated to employees at home, it’s a smart idea to have a phone tree in place so everyone stays in the know. Having a phone tree also offers a great backup, should the email server ever go down.

3. Do Fire Drills: Fire drills ensure that everyone knows where to be in the event of an actual emergency, and can help keep you all calm, cool and collected, should something occur. In addition, fire drills make it easier for everybody to stay calm and feel prepared, even if an emergency never arises

Sweden has instituted a country-wide program where citizens can enroll to receive an SMS when there is a heart attack victim nearby, allowing them to reach them faster than an ambulance and provide CPR.  Over 1,500 people with CPR skills have enrolled in the program, called SMSlifesavers (smslivraddare in Swedish).  When its call center receives an alert about a possible heart attack, SMSlifesavers within a quarter mile (500 meters) are text message with an address and map.  In 40% of the cases, SMSlifesavers arrived before ambulances and started providing CPR.

The service was launched as a research project by the Stockholm South General Hospital, with the goal of increasing the survival rate by 50% in cases where cardiac arrest happened outside of a hospital.  The system uses global positioning of user’s cell phones to find lifesavers

While this service might result in a mob of local Samaritans rushing to providing help, having too much help is better than help arriving too late – without quick CPR, victims don’t have a chance and is the main reason why their survival rate is so low.

Medical emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time, it’s always a good idea to have a plan in place – especially at work. CPR Northwest training program has been added to many workplaces and businesses. Just like CPR Northwest gives people the tools and skills to prevent potential disasters, like forklifts accidents at warehouses, dockyards and more.



People who use CPR Northwest include forklift drivers, supervisors, heavy equipment operators and many other types of workers. Because we always want the workplace to be a safer area, here are 5 safety tips for avoiding a potential CPR situation.

1) Make sure all wires and electrical devices are properly put away. Since cardiac arrest can be caused by electrocution, protect all wires and boxes. Only trained electricians should have access to dangerous areas.

2) Keep the air flowing. Another common cause of cardiac arrest at work, is blacking out because no oxygen is flowing to the brain. If a worker has to enter a room with poor air quality, make sure they have a co-worker ready to help.

3) Follow proper procedures. Serious accidents can trigger cardiac arrest in the workplace. Review your employer’s safety information to prevent accidents and CPR from happening.

4) Know your emergency numbers. CPR should be performed before EMT’s arrive. Sometimes, a quick call to an ambulance service or hospital ensures they’re already on their way before CPR needs to be administered.

5) Provide rewards for being healthy. Many employers provide a rewards program for living a healthy life. Gym memberships, non-smoking programs and other programs can drop your health insurance costs and prevent a cardiac arrest from happening.

We hope these tips are useful for your own workplace. Planning ahead is a great tool for preventing serious emergencies. Additionally, a proper certification for forklift operators can help avoid bad accidents at work.
To take a CPR class give us a call at 503-538-2610