Self-Management of Cardiovascular Disease: A Patient/Family Education Package

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer of Americans. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, more than 60 million people in the U.S. have one or more forms of CVD making it the leading cause of death in` the United States. Every year, there are approximately 1,100,000 incidents of hearts attacks and 600,000 incidents of stroke. Despite these numbers, CVD is a manageable and preventable disease when people adopt heart healthy lifestyle behaviors.

State of the Art, Inc. has received a grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to produce a health promotion initiative, “Self-Management of Chronic Illness: A Patient Education Campaign.” This project will address self-management and prevention of CVD and will include two videos (one for men and one for women), a companion booklet, and interactive web application. In addition, a broadcast special on CVD prevention will be developed.

The goals of this project are to reduce the morbidity and mortality attributable to CVD, particularly in African American and Hispanic/Latino Americans. The materials will seek to: provide people living with CVD with the tools necessary for successful self-management and prevention of future CVD events; inform and support caregivers of those with or at risk of CVD, to help them support self-management activities in those they care for. The broadcast special will motivate people at a high risk for CVD to reduce modifiable risk factors. The broadcast will be distributed nationally to a general audience through PBS and also directly into hospital rooms across the country. The, broadcasts, videos, web module and booklet will address issues that affect a person's ability to successfully self-manage CVD including:

• Addressing risk factors
• Identifying symptoms
• Patient/provider communication
• Health care utilization
• Medication management
• Mental health/psychosocial issues
• Importance of social support

Our Board of Advisors for "Self-Management of Cardiovascular Disease" is:

• Lawrence Appel, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions
• Robert Carney, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine
• Patricia Davidson, MD, Washington Hospital Center
• John Farquhar, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Health Research and Policy
• Keith Ferdinand, MD, Heartbeats Life Center; Professor, Xavier College of Pharmacy
• Kate Lorig, RN, DrPH, Stanford University School of Medicine
• Thomas Pearson, MD, PhD, Community & Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester

For more information or to become involved, please contact:

Gerardine Wurzburg
President

phone: (202) 537-0818
fax: (202)-537-0828

Confidential and Proprietary