Cardiac disease is the most common congenital defect in children, affecting between 3 and 10 in every 1000 live births. While significant advances in medical and surgical management have resulted in increasing numbers of survivors, it is also recognized that there is a growing population of children living with neurological impairment and lowered…

Overweight and obesity plague American society and their burden is shared disproportionately by minorities at all age levels. The ramifications of overweight are well documented and include chronic morbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and certain forms of cancer. Immigrants, who comprise 11% of…

Objective: To examine impact of CVD risk reduction intervention for African-American men in the Atlanta Empowerment Zone (AEZ) designed to target anger management. Design: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was employed as a non-parametric alternative to the t-test for independent samples. This test was employed because the data used in this analysis…

Context: Patients with heart conditions in rural areas may have different responses to health promotion-disease Self-management interventions compared to their urban counterparts. Purpose: To estimate the impact of a multi-component health promotion nurse intervention on physical function and total health care expenditures among elderly adults…

Although studies regarding health issues and the obesity epidemic have increased in recent years, few of these studies target college-aged students. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences in race/ethnicity with respect to prevalence of overweight/obesity (defined by body mass index or BMI) among college students…

Results from a study of 82 males provide no statistical support and limited encouragement that genetic risk information may motivate persons to make positive changes in preventive health behaviors. Health risk assessments were used to identify subjects at risk for coronary heart disease or lung cancer because of genetic factors. (IAH)

This study examines the effects of marital history on the burden of cardiovascular disease in midlife. With use of data from the 1992 Health and Retirement Study, a series of nested logistic regression models was used to estimate the association between marital history and the likelihood of cardiovascular disease. Results suggest that, in midlife,…

Blood samples from 38 runners on the Danish national orienteering team revealed no ongoing chlamydia pneumoniae, although 42% had an earlier infection, similar to the incidence in the general population. However, over 2% had an ongoing lyme borreliosis infection, and 18% had an earlier infection, which is a higher incidence than in the general…

The study evaluated the total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol of 40 adults (mean age 37.5 years) with mental retardation residing at an intermediate care facility. Results indicated that 59 percent of the males and 68 percent of the females were at moderate to high risk for coronary heart disease. (DB)

This fact sheet on blood cholesterol examines the connection between cholesterol and heart disease, lists risk factors for heart disease that can and cannot be controlled, points out who can benefit from lowering blood cholesterol, distinguishes between blood and dietary cholesterol, describes low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein…

Older persons (55 years and older) with cardiovascular disease are at increased risk for hospital readmission when compared to other subgroups of our population. This issue presents an economic problem, a concern for the quality and type of care provided, and an urgent need to implement innovative strategies designed to reduce the rising cost of…

Compliance with many health-promoting regimens is often poor, even among individuals with known chronic disease. Lifestyle changes recommended by cardiac rehabilitation educators are often not adopted or not maintained by clients having suffered myocardial infarction and/or coronary graft bypass surgery. Subjects were graduates (N=117) of a Phase…

Longevity of 12,543 Down's syndrome clients of the California Department of Developmental Services was examined. Findings indicated that predictors of survival were not different from mortality-related variables in the general population. Lack of mobility or poor feeding skills were better predictors of early death than variables associated with…

In a random sample of 1,088 men in the Charleston (South Carolina) Heart Study, differences in all-cause or coronary disease mortality rates were not significant for African-American and white males when socioeconomic status was controlled. Socioeconomic status appears to be an important predictor of mortality. (SLD)

This booklet offers advice for adults who want to lower their blood cholesterol level. The first section, "What You Need To Know about High Blood Cholesterol," discusses blood cholesterol and why it matters, what cholesterol numbers mean, and what affects blood cholesterol levels. Section 2, "What You Need To Do To Lower Blood…