Do your poor choices in the past disqualify you from making good choices in the future?…Does what you did yesterday define who are today or who you will be tomorrow? Sergio Leyva, an inmate in the LA county jail, learned he could redeem himself though something as simple as CPR.

Back in August of this year, one of his correctional officers collapsed while suffering from a heart attack. Sergio and several other inmates rushed to help their fallen jailer.

“No breathing. No heartbeat,” Sergio said. “I did CPR on him. And, basically brought him back to life.”

“I didn’t see him as an officer. He’s a person. I was going to help that person, regardless of the uniform or no uniform,” he explained. “That man is someone’s father and I have a father. I would like someone to be able to help my father if that happened to him.”

“I’m really not a bad person.” he continued. “I’m actually a good person, I just made bad choices. That’s all. I know that if it were me laying on the ground, dying, that man would have helped me.”

And thanks to Sergio, his correctional officer is alive today because of his quick thinking and determination to show compassion in the most unlikely setting.

It’s great to be back from the Holidays and resuming CPR Northwest The relaxation, turkey, and other delicious foods were a treat, but it’s time to get back to saving lives.  Hopefully everyone kept the calorie count below four thousand. It’s been well documented that heart disease is a top killer in America, and for that matter throughout the world.

Her at CPR Northwest  which is an immediate treatment for cardiac arrest, but we should also always be cognisant of prevention, and what led to that cardiac arrest. It’s always helpful to read the label at the back of the packaging at the supermarket, even when the product claims to be healthy. The difference between something even as simple as 94 and 96 lean beef is amazing. 96 lean beef has about half the fat as 94. If you intend to consume more than 4 ounces, then it’s absolutely essential you go with the first option for heart health.

CPR Northwesthas some exciting classes coming up this month including , adding a regular bloodborne pathogens class, and will soon be hosting classes regularly in Tigard Oregon as well.  

Like us on facebook by December 31 to be in the drawing for a $50.00 Macy's  gift card.

Chocolate may be good for the heart but cardiologists are not giving you a license to indulge.

New research presented at Europe’s biggest medical meeting Monday suggested chocolate consumption might be associated with a one third reduction in the risk of developing heart disease.

Just why there should be such a link was unclear, the European Society of Cardiology congress was told.

There has been a string of scientific studies in recent years showing a potential health benefit from eating chocolate. Dark chocolate, in particular, contains compounds called flavanols thought to be good for the blood system.

In an attempt to paint a clearer picture, Oscar Franco and colleagues from the University of Cambridge pooled results from seven studies involving 100,000 people.

Five of the studies showed a beneficial link between eating chocolate and cardiovascular health, while two did not.

Overall, the findings showed the highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29 percent reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels.

Franco said there were limitations with the pooled analysis, which did not differentiate between dark and milk chocolate, and more research was needed to test whether chocolate actually caused better health outcomes or if it was due to some other confounding factor.

“Evidence does suggest chocolate might have some heart health benefits but we need to find out why that might be,” said Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the research.

“If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates.”

Franco, whose findings were also published online in the British Medical Journal, said while it seemed chocolate had heart benefits, these could easily be outweighed by the unhealthy nature of much confectionery.

“The high sugar and fat content of commercially available chocolate should be considered, and initiatives to reduce it might permit an improved exposure to the beneficial effect of chocolate,” the research team wrote.