Gateways to Information
Healthfinder
This government-sponsored site is an excellent portal for reliable consumer health information. It has links to hundreds of federal, state, and local government health information sites; universities; and non-profit groups. To find information on Heart Disease, look for it under "Hot Topics."
Medline Plus Health Information
This service of the National Library of Medicine is another gateway for consumer health information. The site may be searched by health topics. Heart and Circulation Topics include those for cholesterol, coronary heart disease, heart attack, angina, and high blood pressure. Web pages for these topics will include links to related topics as well.
Cardiovascular Information for Patients and the General Public
This website of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is an excellent gateway to reliable web resources concerning cardiovascular disease. The links to information resources are divided into those for high blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, Latino resources, and miscellaneous cardiovascular information.
Cardiovascular Health Program
This website from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion contains links to information about heart disease in general, the CDC's Cardiovascular Health Program and projects/activities, health statistical information, publications, international resources, and state programs concerning cardiovascular disease.
Drug Information
A part of MedlinePlus, this is a guide to more than 9,000 prescription and over-the-counter medications. The guide may be browsed by the first letter of a generic or brand name drug. Topics covered for each drug include proper use of the medicine, any precautions that must be considered, possible side effects, and a description of how the medication works.
Clinical Trials for Heart Disease
This site, a service of the National Institutes of Health and developed by the National Library of Medicine, is designed to provide patients, family members, and members of the public current information about clinical research studies. The site is frequently updated, and it may be searched by disease, location, treatment, or sponsor.
Disease-Specific Information
Facts about Coronary Heart Disease
This fact sheet is designed for consumers and covers risk factors for cardiovascular disease, causes, symptoms, diagnostic tests, treatments, lifestyle changes, medications, and sources for further information about the disease.
Facts about Angina
This easy-to-read online fact sheet answers frequently asked questions about angina, or chest pain.
Facts about Arrhythmias--Rhythm Disorders
This information source answers frequently asked questions about arrhythmias, including types, causes, treatments, and prevention measures.
When Heartbeats Go Haywire: New Treatments can Save Lives
This reprint from the FDA Consumer is a very informative article about ventricular arrhythmias. Topics include an illustrated definition of the condition, tests used to diagnose the condition, and an explanation of various treatments, including preventative ones, for arrhythmias.
Facts about Cardiomyopathy
This 8-page, illustrated booklet defines and explains cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that is usually of unknown origin.
Cholesterol Resources
Live Healthier, Live Longer: Lowering Cholesterol for the Person with Heart Disease
This handbook is designed to help you lower your blood cholesterol. It explains the importance of HDL and LDL cholesterol as well as triglycerides. Diet and lifestyle changes, as well as medications important to heart disease are explained. The booklet contains many practical hints about physical activity, weight control, and choosing foods low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol-all of which may help you live a healthier life. There are links at this site to view this booklet online either as a text document or a PDF document.
Live Healthier, Live Longer: Lowering Cholesterol (Interactive Website)
This is an excellent interactive site to learn how to manage cholesterol, whether you want to prevent heart disease or already have the disease. The site contains a great resource library and answers frequently asked questions. The "Lifestyle Changes" section is particularly helpful; it will help you to "create a diet" for yourself using the Step 1 or Step 2 guidelines, and it also contains a virtual grocery store, a cyber kitchen and cafe, and a virtual fitness room.
Glossary: High Blood Cholesterol
This is an alphabetical listing of terms and definitions that are relevant to understanding cholesterol.
Cholesterol Lowering Medicines
This is a comprehensive guide to medicines used to lower cholesterol, including statins, bile acid resins, nicotinic acid, fibrates, hormone replacement therapy, and combination drug therapies. The guide explains how these medications work and what side effects they may produce.
Keeping Cholesterol Under Control
This article from the Food and Drug Association is an excellent overview of what cholesterol is, what factors can increase it, and methods used to treat high cholesterol.
Check Your Cholesterol and Heart Disease IQ
This true-false quiz lets you check your knowledge about high blood cholesterol. Answers are given below the questions along with more detailed information.
Diet Resources
The New Food Label--Help in Preventing Heart Disease
This reprint from the FDA Consumer provides detailed information about understanding the new food labels. It includes a glossary of terms used on the new label and what they mean. It specifically explains how to interpret the fat and cholesterol information on the label, the fiber information, the % daily values, serving sizes, and health claims. The end of the article includes many practical tips for reducing fat and cholesterol in the diet. To find out more about labelling for sodium and other nutrients important to blood pressure, click here.
Facts About the DASH Diet
The DASH diet is based on findings from the "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" clinical study that found that elevated blood pressure levels can be reduced with an eating plan low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and rich in fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy products. This 16-page booklet includes a form to track food habits before starting the plan and a chart to help with meal planning and food shopping. It also provides a week's worth of sample menus, and recipes for some of the heart-healthy dishes featured in the menus.
Step-by-Step: Eating to Lower Your Blood Cholesterol
This information-packed soft-cover book gives down-to-earth advice on how to make diet and lifestyle changes to lower high blood cholesterol. It explains the popular Step I and Step II diets of the NHLBI's National Cholesterol Education Program, and gives general rules for being more physically active and controlling your weight. It also provides practical tips for buying and preparing food, selecting food at social events or when eating out, increasing physical activity, and choosing a weight-loss program. There are sample menus for traditional American, Mexican American, and Southern-style meals. It includes extensive tables of the saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, sodium, and calorie content of a variety of foods.
Stay Young at Heart Recipes
This site provides links to heart-healthy recipes in many diverse categories. A free copy of this publication can also be ordered from this site.
Healthful Snacks for the Chip-and-Dip Crowd
This reprint from the FDA Consumer is a wealth of information on how to make better choices of snack foods. Serving sizes are emphasized, and there is a special section devoted to Olestra, the newest fat substitute.
Consumer's Guide to Fats
This reprint from the FDA Consumer is helpful in understanding the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats, cholesterol, and triglycerides. Links are provided to articles about Olestra, the fat substitute approved by the FDA in 1996.
Healthy Eating Tips
These easy-to-read tips from the CDC give hints about every aspect of diet--from eating breakfast to eating out, from choosing low-fat foods to choosing good snacks. All of these may be helpful to those trying to watch their diet due to heart disease.
Fruits and Vegetables: Eating Your Way to 5 A Day
One way to cut down on fat in your diet is to increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables. This website gives practical advice on how to get 5 fruits and vegetables in your diet daily, and also includes tips for safe handling of fruits and vegetables. There is a link to NIH's official "Five-A-Day" website.
More People Trying Vegetarian Diets
Some people advocate following a vegetarian diet to help lower the risk of heart disease. This reprint from FDA Consumer explains the health claims for vegetarian diets and includes a nice chart of tips on how to replace animal sources of certain nutrients.
Soy: Health Claims for Soy Protein, Questions about Other Components
In October 1999, the Food and Drug Administration gave food manufacturers permission to put labels on products high in soy protein indicating that these foods may help lower heart disease risk. This article explains some of the controversy about soy benefits vs. possible risks, and gives practical advice about how to add soy to the diet. Organizations and websites are listed where more information may be obtained.
Weight and Physical Activity Resources
Aim for a Healthy Weight
This site is a wonderful resource for learning more about proper weight control. It has sections on choosing the right weight loss program, guides to physical activity and behavior change, recipes, sample menus, shopping tips, a food exchange list, a menu planner, and a daily food and activity diary. A separate section labelled "Tip Sheets" includes information on eating healthy when dining out, with ethnic foods, when shopping for food, and the crucial difference between watching fat and watching calories.
Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator
The NHLBI obesity guidelines propose that doctors use body mass index (BMI) to assess patients because the index is simple, correlates to fatness, and applies to both men and women. However, the calculations needed to determine BMI are rather complex. This site makes it easy--all you have to do is enter your weight in pounds and select your height. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight and one 30 or above is considered obese. For optimal heart health, one should strive for a BMI of 25 or less.
Check Your Physical Activity and Heart Disease IQ
Taking this true-false quiz will help you find out what you know about how physical activity affects your heart. The answers provided will uncover exercise myths and give you information on ways to improve your heart health through physical activity.
Physical Activity and Weight Control
Part of the Weight-Control Information Network sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Disease (NIDDK), this site explains the importance of regular physical activity to effective weight loss and weight maintenance. Suggestions are given for a safe and successful physical activity program, including stretching exercises, moderate-intensity exercises, and aerobic activities.
Resources for Women
Healthy Heart Handbook for Women
This easy-to-use, easy-to-read handbook in PDF format explains factors that place women at risk of heart disease and recommends steps they can take to protect their heart health. It also has special information for women with heart disease, including warning signs of a heart attack and how to prepare a heart attack survival plan. Other topics covered include hormone replacement therapy, cholesterol, healthy eating, physical activity, how to talk with your doctor, vitamin supplements, and heart-smart recipes.
Women and Heart Disease Exhibit
This online exhibit set up by the National Library of Medicine has links to the following: fact sheets published by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, information about heart conditions and hormone replacement therapy, a place to search for subject updates on various cardiovascular topics, books available from the NIH Library about cardiovascular disease, and other reliable websites important to women's health.
Be Physically Active
Regular physical activity can help you reduce your risk of coronary heart disease. Being active helps women take off extra pounds, helps to control blood pressure, lessens a diabetic's need for insulin, and boosts the level of "good" HDL-cholesterol. Some studies also show that being inactive increases the risk of heart attack. This 4-page booklet gives practical advice about how to increase physical activity. It can be viewed as a text or PDF document at this site, or a free copy can be ordered here.
Kicking the Smoking Habit
Cigarette smoking is a habit that greatly increases your chances of developing cardiovascular diseases. Surprising as it may seem, smoking by women in this country causes almost as many deaths from heart disease as from lung cancer. If you smoke, you are two to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than a nonsmoking woman, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. Smoking also boosts the risk of stroke. This 4-page booklet can be viewed as a text or PDF document at this site, or a free copy can be ordered here.
Are You at Risk?
This online publication discusses facts about heart disease and women. Major risk factors are reviewed, as well as topics specific to women, such as birth control pills and hormones and menopause.
Preventing and Controlling High Blood Pressure
This fact sheet teaches women how to control and prevent high blood pressure. Topics include limiting alcohol use, using less salt, being physically active, and losing weight if overweight. Suggestions are given to make weight loss easier, safer, and more successful. A chart on activities and the calories burned with each activity is provided. The relationship between birth control pills and blood pressure is discussed, and information on high blood pressure medication is included. This 4-page booklet can be viewed as a text or PDF document at this site, or a free copy can be ordered here.
Controlling High Blood Pressure: A Woman's Guide
This guide explains how high blood pressure affects your health and tells how high blood pressure can be prevented with simple lifestyle changes or controlled with lifestyle changes and medication, if needed. Includes information on commonly used medications as well as a handy table that lists the generic names of blood pressure medications. Also provides a chart for recording blood pressure readings. The 17-page guide can be viewed as a text or PDF document at this site, or a free copy can be ordered here.
Reducing High Blood Cholesterol
This online publication emphasizes changing eating habits to successfully reduce cholesterol. Sections are included dealing with cooking, eating out, increasing physical activity, losing weight, and medications.
So You Have Heart Disease
This 8-page fact sheet explains the causes, symptoms, detection, and treatments of coronary heart disease. It can be viewed as a text or PDF document at this site, or a free copy can be ordered here.
Facts about Hormone Replacement Therapy and Heart Disease
This publication explains the relationship of the hormone estrogen to the risk of heart disease in women. It can be viewed as a text or PDF document at this site, or a free copy can be ordered here.
Latino and African-American Resources
Easy-to-Read English/Spanish Booklets on Heart Health
This set of nine booklets presents key steps Latinos can take to reduce their chances of having heart attack and stroke. Written in a friendly English/Spanish side-by-side style, the booklets present facts and dispel myths. The set includes the following topics: Preventing High Blood Pressure, Cutting Down on Salt and Sodium, Cholesterol, Watching Your Weight, Delicious Heart-Healthy Latino Recipes, Cutting Down on Fat--Not on Taste, Staying Active, and Quitting Smoking.
Latino Cardiovascular Health Resources
The leading cause of death among Latinos is heart disease. Latinos are also generally unaware of important lifestyle changes that could help prevent heart disease. Salud para su Corazón (For the Health of Your Heart) is an exciting new and comprehensive community-based heart-health promotion initiative from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It targets Latinos living in the United States. The project raises awareness of the risk factors and promotes lifestyle changes to reduce the chances of developing heart disease. Click here for educational materials from this program in English and Spanish for the general public.
Booklets for African-Americans on Heart Health
These booklets are designed to help African-Americans reduce their chances of having a heart attack or stroke. Each booklet provides specific information on improving heart health and identifies steps to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans. Topics covered include Cholesterol, Hypertension, Eating Less Salt, Losing Weight, Physical Activity, and Quitting Smoking. Each of the seven booklets can be viewed online either in HTML or PDF format.
Heart-Healthy Home Cooking--African American Style
These 20 tested favorite African American recipes will show you how to cut back on saturated fat, cholesterol, salt, and sodium and still have great-tasting food. Delicious foods from spicy southern barbecued chicken to sweet potato pie are included. The publication can either be ordered (print version) or viewed online in PDF format at this site.
Helpful Organizations
American Heart Association
This site is a wealth of information about risk awareness, nutrition, exercise, programs, and books/cookbooks concerning heart disease. They have a new interactive health and lifestyle change program that is individualized for each person. To find out What's New and What's News, click here.
The Mended Hearts, Inc.
This is a support group that offers help and encouragement to heart disease patients and their families. Their website provides information on chapter locations and membership, as well as other links of interest.
JAMA Women's Health Information Center
The Search feature can be used to look up heart health topics and retrieve information from the Journal of the American Medical Association and other peer-reviewed resources.
This web page was designed by Susan Arnold as part of the course requirements for CLIS 734 at the University of South Carolina, Fall 2000. Comments, suggestions, or questions are welcome via e-mail.