Shopping Cart (0 items for $0.00)
Sign Up Now ForAre you doing all you can to prevent a heart attack or stroke? from the Harvard Heart Letter
January 2012
That's the central question posed—and answered—in the January 2012 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.
In keeping with the self-improvement resolutions that accompany the new year, this issue of the Harvard Heart Letter revolves around the goals of the Million Hearts Initiative. Million Hearts is a comprehensive, collaborative campaign to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years through simple, effective, and inexpensive actions, the ABCS:
- taking daily low-dose Aspirin, if prescribed
- managing Blood pressure and Cholesterol levels
- quitting Smoking
In addition to reviewing the most current targets for blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking cessation—and pragmatic strategies to help people hit them—the January Heart Letter adds D (for Diet) and E (for Exercise) to the Million Hearts alphabet. Because eating healthfully and staying physically active are important contributors to preventing cardiovascular disease, this issue offers practical advice on how to develop good habits in these two areas. It's not as difficult as people make it out to be!
The January Heart Letter also explains how federal, state, and local governments can help people achieve the Million Hearts objectives. In a Q&A session with Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (which, along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is spearheading the Million Hearts campaign), readers are encouraged to meet the Million Hearts objectives by teaming up with—and challenging—their health care providers.
Read the full length article: "You could be one in a million"
Also in this issue of the Harvard Heart Letter
- What are your barriers to exercise?
- January 2012 references and further reading
- You could be one in a million
- CDC director explains simple steps to saving lives
- Daily aspirin prevents dangerous clots
- Why blood pressure matters so much
- Keys to managing your cholesterol
- Zero exposure is the only safe bet with smoking
- Developing healthful eating habits is not so hard
- Increasing activity can be a walk in the park
- Million Hearts' national initiatives help you help yourself
- Weight loss: Fewer calories in, more calories out
- Weight loss turns back the clock on heart disease
- On the horizon: An ultrasound device barely bigger than a smartphone
- On the horizon: Signaling the brain to lower blood pressure
- Ask the doctor: Which type of replacement valve should I get?
- Ask the doctor: Should I switch to generic Lipitor?
More Harvard Health News »
About Harvard Health Publications
Harvard Health Publications publishes four monthly newsletters--Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Women's Health Watch, Harvard Men's Health Watch, and Harvard Heart Letter--as well as more than 50 special health reports and books drawing on the expertise of the 8,000 faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School and its world-famous affiliated hospitals.
