American Heart Month --- February 2010

Announcement: American Heart Month --- February 2010
Weekly
February 19, 2010 / 59(06);166

February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. During 2010, an estimated 610,000 persons in the United States will have a first myocardial infarction (MI) and 325,000 will have a repeat event (1). MI survivors can reduce their risk for another MI through secondary prevention measures that include cardiac rehabilitation, an effective and underused approach to reducing multiple risk factors for heart disease (2).

CDC funds heart disease and stroke prevention programs in health departments in 41 states and the District of Columbia. A primary activity of these programs is conducting campaigns to increase public awareness of MI signs and symptoms and the importance of calling 9-1-1 when experiencing these symptoms.

Information regarding heart disease is available from the American Heart Association at http://www.americanheart.org, and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Information regarding CDC heart disease programs is available at http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp.

References
American Heart Association. Heart disease and stroke statistics---2010 update. Dallas, TX: American Heart Association; 2009. Available at http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192667. Accessed February 10, 2010.
Taylor RS, Brown A, Ebrahim S, et al. Exercise-based rehabilitation for patients with coronary heart disease: systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trails. Am J Med 2004;116:682--92.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5906a4.htm?s_cid=mm5906a4_e