This study evaluated the level of change in students' knowledge of and attitudes toward healthy lifestyle behaviors and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) following implementation of a Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Module in Grade 5 science classes. Two classes of students (n[subscript 1] = 39) were identified as the intervention group…

To overcome barriers to improved outcomes, we undertook an intervention to teach schoolchildren how to detect a stroke and call emergency medical services (EMS). We obtained permission from parents and guardians to use an 8-min puppet show to instruct the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders about stroke detection, symptomatology, and calling EMS. A…

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were introduced for first responders in 1992 to manage adult cardiac arrest and are now common in many public places. Today AEDs are capable of shocking children under 8 years of age, or less than 55 pounds. This presents a challenge for school nurses, particularly as the prevalence of chronic medical…

High school athletes represent the largest group of individuals affected by sudden cardiac death, with an estimated incidence of once or twice per week. Structural cardiovascular abnormalities are the most frequent cause of sudden cardiac death. Athletes participating in basketball, football, track, soccer, baseball, and swimming were found to…

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a cardiac condition in which an extra electrical pathway within the heart causes an abnormal increase in heart rate. It affects one to three people of every 1,000 people worldwide, occurring more often in males. Diagnosis usually occurs during young adulthood, so it is important for school nurses to be familiar…

This article describes the development and growth of "Lifestyle Improvements in the Family Environment" ("L.I.F.E."), a school-based heart-health screening and intervention program. The primary goals of "L.I.F.E." through three rounds of grant funding remained constant: (a) to identify cardiovascular risk factors in…

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in our society. Tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths in the United States and the cause of premature death of approximately 2 million individuals in developed countries. Smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and is a major cause of heart disease, cerebrovascular…

Identifying and intervening with overweight children may decrease their likelihood of developing heart disease later in life. This secondary analysis of 58 children in the 3rd grade examined the prevalence of overweight children, methods for measuring overweight status, and the relationship among these measures and other risk factors for heart…