03 Jun 2010

American Heart Association recruits teens to get 1 million people educated in CPR

By Ciara O'Brien Murray

IOWA, June 1 ? To reach its goal of educating 1 million Americans about CPR during CPR Week (June 1-7), the American Heart Association is calling on a new audience -- teens.

"We are reaching out to teens to create the next generation of lifesavers," said Michael Sayre, M.D., chairman of the American Heart Association's Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. "Teens can learn how to save lives and play an important role by setting an example for their friends, families and neighbors about the need for CPR and AED training -- and they can encourage the adults in their lives to learn CPR."

During CPR Week, the association will increase awareness about CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) so more people will know the simple steps to save a life if someone suddenly collapses from cardiac arrest.

Anyone - teen or adult - can help the association reach its goal by:

· Playing the "Be the Beat" educational game or watching the Hands-Only CPR video at cprweek.org

· Taking a classroom-based course. To find a course, go to americanheart.org/cpr and click on the ECC Class Connector.

· Training on CPR Anytime, a self-directed, at-home CPR kit.  Kits can be ordered at cpranytime.org

Once people have learned about CPR via traditional instructor-led training or a CPR Anytime kit, they can log their experience at CPRweek.org. People who play the educational game or watch the Hands-Only video on the CPR Week site will be automatically counted toward the goal. A real-time heat map will track the number of people who have taken action in communities nationwide.

The association recently expanded its outreach to teens with Be the Beat, a program that encourages teens to learn what to do when someone collapses from cardiac arrest. Visitors to BeTheBeat.heart.org learn the basics of CPR and how to use an AED through a series of video games and interactive quizzes. There's also a playlist of 100-beat-per-minute songs to set the right pace for chest compressions.

Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere. And when it does, a victim's survival depends on the people around them.  Skilled emergency personnel treat about 300,000 victims of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in the United States, but more than 92 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital die from it.

Training more people to perform CPR - in its 50th year as a lifesaving measure -- increases survival by enabling more possible bystanders to handle an emergency.  Less than one-third of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander.  Without immediate CPR, the chance of surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest drops up to 10 percent for each minute that passes without defibrillation.  This means that by the time EMS personnel arrive on the scene it could be too late.

"CPR and AED training are critical to saving lives," Sayre said. "CPR Week is one way we hope to increase awareness about cardiac arrest as a significant health problem and get teens and adults to take action so more lives can be saved."

For more information about CPR Week, visit CPRweek.org.

28 Jan 2010

The 28 Days of Fighting Heart Disease

By Ciara O'Brien Murray

February is American Heart Month, drawing attention to heart disease, America's No. 1 killer, and the strides being taken through research and education to raise awareness of risk factors and to decrease death rates. Appropriately kicked off on National Wear Red Day (Friday, Feb. 5, 2010), the American Heart Association and its Go Red For Women movement urge everyone to support the fight against heart disease in women by wearing red that day.

REASONS TO BELIEVE

  1. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women age 20 and over, but it is largely preventable. In fact, up to 80% of cardiac events in women may be prevented if women make the right choices for their hearts, including diet, exercise and not smoking.

  1. Go Red BetterU is a FREE 12-week online nutrition and fitness program that can makeover your heart. Each week will focus on a different area and provide step-by-step guidance. You'll have access to everything from daily expert tips and an online journal to a downloadable BetterMe coaching tool.  Visit www.GoRedforWomen.org for more information.

  1. While 1 in 30 American women die of breast cancer, 1 in 3 women die from cardiovascular disease.

  1. Cardiovascular disease kills approximately 450,000 women each year, which is about one each minute.

  1. FEBRUARY 5th: Today is National Wear Red Day! Join dozens of women, as well as companies and organizations in Iowa and cities across America by wearing red today. It's a simple, powerful way to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke.

  1. Overweight children are more likely to have abnormally thick heart muscle tissue when they become an adult, which increases the risk of heart attack and heart failure. Learn how to get your kids on the right track at www.heart.org.

  1. Visit www.GoRedForWomen.org and join the online discussion about heart health.

  1. If you or someone you know shows signs of heart attack or stroke, call 9-1-1 right away. An Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team can begin treatment when it arrives. That means treatment can begin sooner than it would if the patient arrived at the hospital by car. What's more, the EMS team is also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped, which can save hundreds of lives each year.

  1. Children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy have more damage to their arteries in young adulthood than offspring of non-smokers and the association is even stronger if both parents smoke.

 

  1. Choose to speak up, not remain silent. Support legislation that would improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and stroke in women at www.yourethecure.org.

  1. Too many lives have and will be cut short from heart disease and its risk factors; however, early detection, lifestyle changes, and other intervention can improve certain conditions.

  1. Plan meals in advance - visit www.heart.org for recipes from a number of heart-healthy cookbooks and use the online grocery list builder to quickly identify heart-healthy products to add to your grocery list.

13. Schedule a doctor's appointment each year and get a complete blood screen. Visit www.GoRedForWomen.org and download "What to Know BEFORE Your Doctor Visit." Only 1 in 5 women believes that heart disease is her greatest health threat.

  1. This year about 1.2 million Americans will have a first or repeat coronary attack. About 452,000 of them will die. Coronary heart disease is our nation's leading cause of death.

  1. Nearly 8 million Americans age 20 and older have survived a heart attack (myocardial infarction). About 8.9 million have angina pectoris (chest pain or discomfort due to reduced blood supply to the heart).

  1. An estimated 25.1 million men and 20.9 million women increase their risk of heart attack and stroke by smoking cigarettes.

  1. One of the best ways to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease is to start getting regular, moderate exercise, at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.

  1. Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, causing someone to gasp dramatically, clutch her heart and drop to the ground. No one has any doubts about what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often the people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help.

  1. The American Heart Association dedicates more monies to research than any

other voluntary health organization. Only the federal government funds more cardiovascular research.

  1. Start thinking about your heart. By adding one hour of regular, vigorous physical activity, adults may gain up to two hours of life expectancy. Start by including more physical activity into your daily routine. Take a walk, ride a bike or take the stairs.  Visit www.StartWalkingNow.org for some free tools and tips.

  1. About 36.6 million American adults have cholesterol levels of 240 or higher ? the point at which it becomes a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. Your total cholesterol should be below 200, and your HDL (good) cholesterol should be 40 or higher.

  1. Americans think they are in better heart health than they really are. According to a recent American Heart Association survey, nearly 40 percent thought they were in ideal heart health, when in reality less than 1 percent of Americans have an ideal profile.

 

  1. To find out how healthy you are, the American Heart Association developed a new health assessment tool, called My Life Check, at www.heart.org/mylifecheck. It will give you an overall health score and create an action plan to move you closer to your individual health goals. No matter what you score, any healthy change can help you live a longer, better life.

  1. During a heart check up, your doctor takes a careful look at your "numbers," including your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, your blood pressure and more. Knowing your numbers is an important part of keeping your heart-healthy. It can help you and your doctor know your risks and mark the progress you're making toward a healthier you.

  1. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. If you smoke cigarettes (or cigars), you have a higher risk of illness and death from heart attack, stroke and other diseases. So if you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, love your heart and quit today. Need more motivation? Visit www.heart.org for help quitting smoking.

  1. Uncovering family history can help you to better understand your risk for heart disease. If you have a blood relative with heart disease or a risk factor for genetic heart disease, your risk for developing it significantly increases.

  1. More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.

  1. Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.  Learn about your risk factors and how to reduce them at www.GoRedForWomen.org.
01 Sep 2009

Youth Empowered to Join Movement and Go Healthy in September

By Ciara O'Brien Murray

Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Go Healthy Month Inspires Kids to Take a Stand Against Childhood Obesity

(IOWA) Sept. 1, 2009 - The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, is empowering youth to join the fight against childhood obesity and to celebrate September's Go Healthy Month.

Focusing efforts on preventing childhood obesity and creating healthier lifestyles for all children, the Alliance has designated the month of September as Go Healthy Month. Our empowerME movement - more than one million strong - will reach out this month to expand and inspire even more tweens and teens to eat better, move more and wipe out America's obesity epidemic. Tweens and teens are asked to join the empowerME movement and become leaders and advocates for healthy eating and physical activity in their communities. Through empowerME, healthy lifestyles become "cool" for tweens and teens.

"America's kids are facing unprecedented rates of obesity. By joining together to fight this epidemic, they are inspiring each other to live healthier," said Ginny Ehrlich, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. "Through Go Healthy Month and the empowerME Movement we hope to empower kids to make better choices now, to ensure an impact on their health and quality of life in the future."

"Go Healthy Month is the perfect time for us kids to make a commitment to be healthy," said David Sanchez, 17, Racine, Wisc., a member of the empowerME Movement's Youth Advisory Board. "By attending a Go Healthy Month event, joining the empowerME Movement and sharing our stories, we can motivate each other to make sure our generation will live longer, healthier lives."

To teach kids the basics of healthy eating and living active lifestyles, the Alliance also created a FREE, 8-session healthy living course - empowerME4Life. The course is age-appropriate, culturally relevant, targeted to kids ages 8-12; and can be facilitated by older youth or adult allies. When young people learn to make small changes in what they eat and how active they are, they can make a big difference in their health over time.

Youth are encouraged to visit www.empowerme2b.org to learn more about joining the empowerME Movement and the FREE EmowerME4Life program.

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