Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Extension
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1571
Healthy Heart Beats
January-March 2009
Vol 31, Issue 1
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Healthy Heart Program Updates
In this Issue
Greetings!
As we reviewed the data from 2008, we were heartened to discover that over 67,000 people had accessed the Healthy Heart Beats. This is an indication to us we should continue issuing this quarterly newsletter. We thank each of you for reading Healthy Heart Beats and hopefully finding it to be helpful in your personal and professional lives.
February is American Heart Month and thus an ideal time to use this awareness in your educational efforts and work with the media. A related initiative the American Heart Association has developed is the "Go Red for Women" campaign. Red dress buttons are being worn in many cities, stores are decorated in red, and newscasters wore red on February 14 as awareness of the increased risk of heart disease in women was strongly emphasized.
In addition to heart disease, there appears to be a trend to increased incidence and prevalence of stroke in women that will likely continue through 2020. The latest issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association provides an in-depth look at the growing epidemic of stroke in women as well as the challenges it poses. There also appears to be a disparity in care for women with 14 percent less likely to receive "defect-free" stroke care compared to men. In an analysis conducted here in Colorado of the program Get with the Guidelines, researchers found that stroke-prevention measures for women, such as cholesterol medications, were less likely to be used in women than in men.
It is thus apparent that a lot of work remains for prevention and treatment of both heart disease and stroke. Educational programs are one avenue where measures can be taken to increase awareness. Both nutrition and an active lifestyle are key health practices that promote good health and prevent disease.
Go to www.eatright.org for information and materials promoting National Nutrition Month (NNM) in March. The theme this year is "Eat Right." You may wish to organize a healthy recipe contest in your workplace, decorate your bulletin boards with NNM materials, or make a healthy food display in your foyer or waiting area. Other ideas for NNM are to conduct supermarket tours or organize a pot-luck lunch with nutritious choices. Consider introducing some new foods for staff or class participants to enjoy.
National Start Walking Day is on April 8. To order the tool kit for National Start Walking Day, visit http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053117. The kit includes materials to promote becoming more active in the workplace and encourage others to be part of the movement to get more Americans walking.
Best wishes in the coming year. We hope your health-especially your heart health-remains good this year despite the tremendous and stressful economic challenges we are all facing in 2009.
Jennifer Anderson, Ph.D., R.D.
Food and Nutrition Extension Specialist
Shirley Perryman, M.S., R.D.
Extension Specialist
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