Maine CVH Policy Inventory

2007 Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Maine Cardiovascular Health Program

NHLBI's Diseases and Conditions Index

Go Red For Women

CPR Anytime for Family and Friends Personal Learning Program

Community Guidebook

Web Resources

JNC 7 -- New Hypertension Guidelines

State Health Facts Online

Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults

Maine CVH Policy Inventory

To assist you or your organization with research of cardiovascular health related policies in Maine, the Maine CDC's Cardiovascular Health Program has compiled lists of laws and regulations in Maine that related to cardiovascular health.  The list is organized by the following topics.

• Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
• Emergency Medical Services
• Cardiovascular Health Disparities
• Health Care Coverage
• Tobacco
• Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Diabetes
• Prescription Drugs
• Miscellaneous Cardiovascular Health Related

This resource will be updated once a year.  Click here to go the the link and then select the "policy" tab on the top.

2007 Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women

The American Heart Association has updated and sharpened its guidelines for preventing heart disease in women.  The focus now is on a woman's lifetime risk for heart disease, not just her short-term risk.  The 2007 Guidelines were published in a special issue of the Journal Circulation devoted to women's health.  Among other things, the guidelines refresh recommendations on aspirin use, hormone replacement therapy, and vitamin and mineral supplementation.  To view a copy of the abstract go to http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/short/115/11/1481.

Go Red For Women

The Go Red Heart CheckUp is a free, online assessment tool created by the American Heart Association to help women take charge of their heart-health.  Just enter your information into the Go Red Heart CheckUp questionnaire at www.goredforwomen.org, and within seconds you will get an easy-to-read report that evaluates your risk of having a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within the next decade.

Maine Cardiovascular Health Program

The Maine CDC Cardiovascular Health Program in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services works to prevent death and disability from heart disease and stroke in Maine.  We promote a way of life that supports and includes preventing and controlling risk factors, especially high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, and increasing timely care for heart attacks and strokes.  To accomplish this we partner with state and local organizations, provide education to Maine residents, and offer technical assistance, resources and training to community organizations, health care providers and employers.  For more information on the MCVHP click here.

NHLBI's Diseases and Conditions Index

The DCI is an online information resource on diseases and conditions related to heart, lung, and blood diseases, and sleep disorders.  It is written in an easy-to-read format, and was designed to replace and expand upon the old Fact Sheet series.  www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/index.html.

CPR Anytime for Family and Friends Personal Learning Program

If a cardiac arrest happened to your loved one or a close friend, would you know how to perform life-saving CPR, which can double a victim's chance of survival?  Surprisingly, the vast majority of Americans don't.  That's why the American Heart Association, in collaboration with Laerdal, has developed the CPR Anytime for Family and Friends Personal Learning Program, bringing CPR training into the homes of families everywhere.  For more information on this program and/or to purchase it, go to www.americanheart.org and click on the CPR Anytime symbol.

Taking Action to Heart:  A Planning Guide for a Community-Based Approach to Cardiovascular Health (Community Guidebook):

This community guidebook provides an overview of the action planning projects with suggestions for programs to address cardiovascular health in various sectors of the community.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Community Guidebook, please send your request to dianec@mcd.org 

JNC 7 -- New Hypertension Guidelines

You are invited to be among the first to get the most significant update to the state-of-the-science on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of hypertension since 1997.

"The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure:  The JNC 7 Report" presents:

• Redefined and streamlined blood pressure categories.
• New recommendations on prevention.
• New diagnosis guidelines.
• New drug and lifestyle treatment approaches.

The guidelines, which also include new data on control, awareness, and treatment rates for high blood pressure, are published by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (National Institutes of Health).

Get the version(s) to fit your needs.  Select from:

• JNC 7 Express for primary care practitioners.
• Quick Reference Card for an at-hand reference in the busy clinic.
• Patient education materials for those interested in preventing or controlling their own high blood pressure.

To get the new guidelines:

• order online at http://emall.nhlbihin.net/
• Call the NHLBI Health Information Network at 301-592-8573 (9 am - 5 pm, EST, M-F).
• Visit the new Web site covering all aspects of the JNC 7 hypertension guidelines at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/index.htm 
  

State Health Facts Online
The Kaiser Family Foundation launched a new Internet resource on July 11, 2001, that offers comprehensive and current health information for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.  State Health Facts Online, at www.statehealthfacts.org, offers health policy information on a broad range of issues such as managed care, health insurance coverage and the uninsured, Medicaid, Medicare, women's health, minority health, and HIV/AIDS.

This free resource -- intended for journalists, state and federal policymakers, researchers, and other interested parties -- allows users to easily view information for a single state or compare and rank data across all 50 states and compare to to U.S. totals.  Information on more than 200 topics is displayed in easy-to-read tables and color-coded maps, and can be downloaded for customized comparisons. 

Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) Executive Summary

The Executive Summary summarizes the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III, or ATP III).  The executive summary contains treatment recommendations derived from the evidence-based full ATP III report.  Key tables and figures from the full report are included for easy reference.

Topics addressed in the executive summary include classification of lipids and lipoproteins, coronary heart disease (CHD) risk assessment, lifestyle interventions, drug treatment, and interventions to improve adherence.  Recommendations for special populations such as patients with CHD, patients at high risk for developing CHD, patients with diabetes, women, older Americans, young adults, and racial and ethnic groups are provided.

To view the executive summary online, go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atp_iii.htm  

Web Resources
For further information about cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention, check out the following websites:

American Heart Association 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  

Coordinating School Health Programs (Maine) - check out their new website at www.mainecshp.com to get the latest information on:  guidelines for coordinating school health programs; the CSHP newsletter; calendar of events, trainings, etc.; funding opportunities; data; hot topics; and related links and other resources.

The USM Lifeline Center is committed to assisting individuals and organizations acquire healthy lifestyle habits by providing leadership/services in fitness, exercise rehabilitation, health/fitness education, recreation and employee wellness.  Check out their site at http:.//www.usm.maine.edu/lifeline

Consumers for Affordable Health Care -- check out their new web site to find up-to-date information about their efforts to improve access to health care in Maine at http://www.mainecahc.org