Mended Hearts participates in launch Million Hearts, a national initiative focused on the prevention of deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke

Mended Hearts participated in the launch of a new national initiative focused on the prevention of deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke.  Please find detail of the initiative below.  You will hear more about Million Hearts as the five-year campaign develops.  Links to some resources may be found in the announcement from the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) below.

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services, with several key partners, launched Million Hearts™, a five-year initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men and women of all races and ethnicities in the United States and costs the United States $444 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity.

Nearly half of American adults have a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease – such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or smoking – yet these can be prevented or controlled by:

 

• Empowering Americans to make healthy choices, such as quitting tobacco use and reducing sodium and trans fat consumption. This can reduce the number of people who need medical treatment, such as blood pressure or cholesterol medications, to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
• Improving care for people who do need treatment by encouraging the ABCS: Aspirin for people at risk, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management and Smoking cessation.

By enlisting partners from every corner of the health sector – including federal agencies; doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals; private insurers; businesses; health advocacy groups; and community organizations – Million Hearts will create a national focus on combating heart disease and stroke.

Co-led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Million Hearts will focus on five pillars:

1) Prioritize focus and attention around improving clinical care of the ABCS
2) Use health information technology to facilitate improvement
3) Identify and accelerate care innovations such as team-based care
4) Foster community innovations
5) Monitor the status of clinical and community prevention rigorously

You can visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov for more information about the initiative, including a Million Hearts overview,  Frequently Asked Questions, PowerPoint slides and  social media tools.

 

Take Action Today – Email your Members of Congress encouraging them to attend this exciting event

On Monday, September 19th, Mended Little Hearts will be joining with several other leading patient and professional organizations for a unique opportunity to educate Congress regarding the life-long needs of those living with congenital heart disease.

EMAIL your legislators to remind them to attend this important event.

 

1)   Find your members at:

1. a.    http:// Senate.gov
2. b.    http:// House.gov

2)   Begin completing their online contact email form, and/or write a separate email to the legislative aide for health using an address you may have previously received.

3)   Insert personalized paragraph

4)   Send

 

Your personalized paragraph should include: (feel free to cut and paste into your paragraph, adding your own details)

 

• How congenital heart disease affects you:
  • I was born with a heart defect.
  • My child was born with a heart defect.
  • I work closely with those affected by congenital heart disease.
• Encourage them to attend the Congenital Heart Disease Briefing
• The Briefing is sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Co-sponsored by: Adult Congenital Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Children’s Heart Foundation, Congenital Heart Information Network, Kids With Heart National Association for Children’s Heart Disorders, March of Dimes, Mended Little Hearts, National Birth Defects Prevention Network, Newborn Foundation/Newborn Coalition, and 1in100.
• This will be a widely attended event on the increasing public health impact of congenital heart defects across the lifespan.  Legislators will:
• Understand the important role of federal and state programs in congenital heart defects research, surveillance, screening and prevention.
• Learn more about future initiatives to improve the lives of children and adults living with congenital heart defects.
• Featured Speakers:
• Coleen Boyle, PhD, MSHyg   Director, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Gideon Mecum, MD, MA  Parent of a child with a congenital heart defect, Pediatrician at Arkansas Children’s Hospital
• Matthew Oster, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine
• Geoffrey Rosenthal, MD, PhD Professor of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Amy Verstappen, MEd President, Adult Congenital Heart Association
• O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP President, American Academy of Pediatrics
• Include a closing:
•  On behalf of [myself/ my child/ my patients,] and the nearly two million American children and adults with CHD alive today, I urge you to learn more.

Get credit for your advocacy efforts – let me know when you’ve sent your email by contacting me at advocacy@mendedlittlehearts.org.

 

IF you live in Washington DC, we would love to have you attend this event.  Please inquire about joining us by emailing advocacy@mendedlittlehearts.org.

Truth Be Told: AFib Webinar Next Week Promises Nationally Recognized Experts Discussing Best Care!

Members interested in atrial fibrillation, and particularly how to ensure the best care, will want to mark their calendars for Team AFib webinar “AFib CARE: Creating A Role for Effective Teams taking place on Wednesday, September 14 at 1 p.m. EST in conjunction with National AFib Awareness Month.

The webinar requires pre-registration and can be done so by clicking on the image above, or going to www.mendedhearts.org and going to the panel  that describes the webinar.  This panel also includes a link to registration.

A panel of top-notch experts will provide guidance on how to work with members of your healthcare team, including nurses, pharmacists, cardiologists, care supporters and patient advocacy groups to achieve the highest quality of AFib care.  The webinar is hosted by Mellanie True Hills of www.StopAfib.org; who presented at Mended Hearts 2010 conference in Minneapolis.

The webinar is sponsored by Team AFib, a coalition of patient advocacy groups focused on AFib and Mended Hearts is a member.  We hope that you will take advantage of what promises to be an informative and stimulating discussion. Please REGISTER today!

Become a healthy heart advocate for World Heart Day Thursday, September 29

This year, on World Heart Day, the World Heart Federation and its members are challenging you to take charge of your family’s heart health and become your home’s advocate for heart-healthy living. Every year, 17.1 million lives are claimed by the global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart disease and stroke, with 82 per cent of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. It is the world’s number one killer but a majority of these deaths could be prevented by eating a healthy diet, carrying out regular physical activity and avoiding tobacco.

“One World, One Home, One Heart”:
In every HOME around the WORLD, join the fight to improve your own and your family’s HEART health!

Every year, World Heart Day events are run by the World Heart Federation and its member organizations in over 100 countries.

For its part, Mended Hearts will be participating in a World Heart Day celebration at the World Bank in Washington, DC with comments from local chapter president Neal Gregory.

PCNA Fall Lecture Series to Feature Free Community Programs for Patients, Families

Longtime Mended Hearts ally, the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) is expanding their fall lecture series to include a program for patients and community members.

The free program will be offered in nine communities and was developed in partnership with Mended Hearts, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and WomenHeart.  The events will be offered in New Orleans, Denver, Cincinnati, Rochester (NY), Philadelphia, Akron, Asheville, Jacksonville (FL), and Charlottesville (VA).

PCNA is the leading nursing organization dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals.

 Register for a FREE half-day program to learn more about your heart health.