Healthy Heart Beats

January-March 2007
Vol 28, Issue 1

Resources

AHA Launches New Magazine: "Heart Insight"

The American Heart Association (AHA) is launching a new consumer magazine, Heart Insight, for heart patients, their families and caregivers in February, 2007. It focuses exclusively on managing and preventing cardiovascular disease and related conditions, such as stroke and diabetes. Published four times a year, the first issue will debut in the offices of healthcare providers. Patients will also be able to order their own complimentary subscriptions to the magazine for home delivery, either by filling out a subscription card or by visiting HeartInsight.com.

"Providing accurate and timely information to help reduce death and disability from cardiovascular disease and stroke is central to our mission," said Raymond Gibbons, M.D., F.A.C.C., president of the American Heart Association. "Heart Insight will supplement our existing patient education programs and Web sites to deliver reliable health and lifestyle information directly to the people who need it most - patients, families and caregivers affected by these diseases."

Each issue of Heart Insight will have practical advice on how patients can:

Work with their doctor to manage elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions.
Reduce the risk of developing heart problems in the future with lifestyle changes that can be worked into a busy schedule - while setting realistic goals against which to measure progress.
Cope with the challenges of living with cardiovascular disease and related conditions, as well as how to care for someone who has chronic medical issues.

"Heart Insight will also help patients stay on top of important news that can affect their treatment options, and keep them up to date on the American Heart Association's latest guidelines, recommendations and statements to manage or prevent cardiovascular disease," said Patrick O'Gara, M.D., Editorial Board Chair and Director of Clinical Cardiology at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.

Click here to preview a copy of Heart Insight.

Go to top of this page.

Free Online Course: Fitting Fats into a Healthy Lifestyle

Registration is now open for "Fitting Fats into a Healthy Lifestyle," a free, online professional development mini-course for dietetic technicians, teachers, public health educators, extension educators, nurses, WIC nutritionists and other health professionals. This 5-week interactive nutrition course uses case studies, online readings, and online discussions with peers and University of Massachusetts faculty to help you to learn about the most recent dietary recommendations for fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and fish oils, and how to plan diets using current recommendations and behavior change theories. Estimated time is 2 hours per week. Participation in the course is free; certificate of completion/documentation of 10 hours or 10 CPE units is available for a fee. The next course, Current Topics in Fats and Health, begins on April 2. For more information, go to http://www.umassone.net/healthyfats.

Go to top of this page.

Exercise Guidance

For guidance and encouragement on how to start exercising consult this free 100-page booklet, "Exercise: A Guide From the National Institute on Aging and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)." Included are workouts for people over 50 with 45 illustrated exercises emphasizing strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance. It may be downloaded at http://weboflife.nasa.gov/exerciseandaging/home.html. A free copy may be obtained by calling 800-222-2225. Your Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart

Additionally, "Your Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart," may be downloaded for free at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/phy_active.htm. This 50-page booklet filled with exercise tips may also be purchased for $3.50 by calling 301-592-8573.

Go to top of this page.

Government Web Page Contacts

Following are potentially useful FDA Web page addresses:
     Dietary Supplements http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/supplmnt.html
     Food Labeling and Nutrition http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/label.html
     Infant Formula http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/inf-toc.html
     Qualified Health Claims http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-qhc.html
     Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html

Other Federal Government Links:
     Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/
     Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/

     US Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
Food and Nutrition Service http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/

Non-Federal Government Link:
National Academy of Sciences http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3788.aspx

Go to top of this page.

Source for Supplements

Check out possible benefits and risks of drugs, supplements and herbs on Medline Plus at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html. The information has been compiled by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.

Go to top of this page.

Osteoporosis and Soy Foods

The curriculum called "Standing on Your Own: Foods to Help Prevent Osteoporosis" has been translated to Spanish. There are two separate PowerPoint presentations: "The Health Benefits of Soy Foods" and "Osteoporosis: Knowledge You Can Stand On." Included with the PowerPoint presentations are PDF materials. These are available from Texas Extension website under the general Food and Nutrition tab: http://fcs.tamu.edu/food_and_nutrition/index.php.

Go to top of this page.

Meal Time in Less Time

If you don't know what's for dinner, Meal Time in Less Time may be a useful curriculum. It can help you plan a menu and provide a way for you to teach others how to make meal preparation less stressful. The curriculum, available on a CD for $40, was developed by University of Idaho Extension Educators. The following are included:

PowerPoint slide show for each lesson
Complete script for each lesson
Lecture notes
Participant handouts to photocopy
Activities to engage your participants
Evaluation tools
Advertising materials

The following web site has ordering information: www.if.uidaho.edu/~bingham/MTLT.htm.

Go to top of this page.

Football-Themed PowerPoint Teaches MyPyramid

Let's Play The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and Department of Education have developed an interactive PowerPoint that uses a football game to teach MyPyramid to youth (as young as 6 years old) and adults. It's complete with referee whistles, fumbles, touchdowns and a halftime show with a band! You can download it at http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/food-ball.shtml.