Fw: AHA Weekly Pulse 09-20-00

[Guest guest]

Hope some of you find these articles interesting.

Ron

FYI: AHA Weekly Pulse 09-20-00

>

> The Weekly Pulse is a weekly electronic update for all AHA staff and

> volunteers. Affiliates may choose to add information to this message and

> forward on to your local volunteers. This e-mail provides current news and

> information related to the American Heart Association.

>

> In this issue...

>

> 1. Current news

> * American Heart Association urges Congress to pass Patients' Bill of

> Rights

> * Persistent smokers skip full benefit of angioplasty

> * Thinking globally to save lives--AHA participates in first World

> Heart Day

> 2. Other health news

> * Get me that Web site, stat! Internet speeds up emergency medicine

> * Ultrasound useful in guiding emergency transvenous cardiac pacing

> 3. AHA-ASA related information

> * Take Heart 2000 update

> * Quarterly Strategic Plan newsletter

> 4. 'Net news

> * Take quiz and get recipes from Cholesterol subsite

> _________________________________________

> 1. Current news

>

> AHA urges Congress to pass Patients' Bill of Rights

> The American Heart Association last week urged Congress to pass a

meaningful

> " Patients' Bill of Rights " which would provide patients with real

> protections, including unhindered access to emergency care and access to

> specialty care. AHA President Dr. RoseMarie on urged Congress to

pass

> patients' rights legislation that gives patients the right to choose the

> health care providers and services they require if their current health

> plans and provider networks can't meet the patient's needs

>

> Persistent smokers skip full benefit of angioplasty

> People who continue to smoke after undergoing balloon angioplasty or other

> procedures to open obstructed heart arteries have a much worse

> health-related quality of life than non-smokers and quitters, researchers

> report in Tuesday's edition of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart

> Association.

>

> Thinking globally to save lives--AHA participates in first World Heart Day

> In an effort to combat heart disease, the AHA and other organizations

> worldwide will observe the first World Heart Day on Sept. 24. Joining 32

> countries on five continents, the association will help the World Heart

> Federation raise global awareness of the rapidly growing threat of heart

> disease and what individuals can do to prevent it.

> A recent World Heart Federation study predicts a worldwide epidemic of

heart

> disease unless aggressive preventive action is taken. For more

information,

> contact Ruacho at .

> ________________________________

> 2. Other health news

>

> Get me that Web site, stat! Internet speeds up emergency medicine

> Surveys suggest that the number of U.S. emergency rooms with Internet

access

> has doubled since 1998. And the number is expected to double again over

the

> next year.

> ER doctors can't memorize all 18,000 diagnoses that could cross their

paths,

> let alone how to treat them. They usually don't have the luxury of time to

> run to the medical library or read through a voluminous medical chart.

> http://www.usatoday.com/life/health/online/lhonl040.htm

> <http://www.usatoday.com/life/health/online/lhonl040.htm>

>

> Ultrasound useful in guiding emergency transvenous cardiac pacing

> Ultrasonography can help guide the transvenous placement of electrodes for

> cardiac pacing in the emergency department (ED), according to a report in

> the September issue of ls of Emergency Medicine. Several studies have

> demonstrated the poor success rate of transvenous cardiac pacing in the ED

> setting. The report findings suggest that " an ultrasound-guided technique

> might enhance the placement success rate and time required for pacing. "

> http://www.americanheart.org/Reuters/pro/20000915clin007.txt.html

> <http://www.americanheart.org/Reuters/pro/20000915clin007.txt.html>

> ________________________________

> 3. AHA-ASA related information

>

> Take Heart 2000 update

> Take Heart 2000 is the American Heart Association's initiative to

> educate presidential and congressional candidates, the public and the

media

> about heart and stroke issues and urge them to take action to help

prevent,

> treat and cure these devastating diseases. Have you asked your volunteers

to

> sign the Take Heart 2000 petition?

> www.americanheart.org/takeheart2000

> <http://www.americanheart.org/takeheart2000> . Thanks to your efforts,

over

> 900 people have signed the online petition since last Thursday. We now

have

> close to 50,000 names on the petition.

>

> The Duchess

> In her role as voluntary spokeswoman, Ferguson, the Duchess of

> York, will promote the AHA's primary messages concerning choosing a

healthy

> lifestyle and knowing the signs of a heart attack or stroke and what to do

> if the signs occur.

> Bill , AHA chairman and partner in Feld, Hyde, Lyle,

> Wertheimer and P.C., a tax law firm in Birmingham, Ala., believes

> Ferguson makes a credible spokeswoman for promoting public awareness of

> heart issue.... " People relate to her and the heart-healthy choices she's

> made in her life, " said. " We feel like she's a powerful role model,

> and she really relates to women's health issues. " According to the AHA,

the

> public views heart disease primarily as a man's affliction. Cardiovascular

> disease, however, ranks No. 1 on the list of deadly women's diseases,

> killing more than 500,000 females each year.

> http://www.dfwtechbiz.com/displayarticledetail.asp?art_id=43868

> <http://www.dfwtechbiz.com/displayarticledetail.asp?art_id=43868>

>

> Quarterly Strategic Plan newsletter

> The fall edition of " New Directions, " the Strategic Plan Newsletter

> is now available on the Intranet. This issue includes information about FY

> 2000 -01 Approved Projects and Talking Points for Amendments to the

> Strategic Plan. The issue also includes the " Big Picture " PowerPoint

> presentation given to the Delegate Assembly in June, which is an overview

of

> projects that support the Impact Goal. Go to

> http://www.insideheart.org/strategic/

> <http://www.insideheart.org/strategic/> and click on " A New Direction " .

>

> 4. 'Net news

>

> Take quiz, get recipes from Cholesterol subsite

> Take a five-question poll, sign up for a free e-mail newsletter and get

> recipes - all on the Cholesterol subsite on the AHA Intranet. September is

> Cholesterol Education Month.

> http://www.americanheart.org/cholesterol/

> <http://www.americanheart.org/cholesterol/>

> ________________________________

>

> To AHA staff: All previous issues of the AHA Weekly Pulse may be found on

> the AHA Intranet at:

> http://www.insideheart.org/CSH/internal/index.htm

> <http://www.insideheart.org/CSH/internal/index.htm> . Click on Weekly

Pulse

> archive.

>

> The previous 10 days of news links can be found on the AHA Library's

> Intranet site at: http://www.insideheart.org/Library/news/heartnew.htm

> <http://www.insideheart.org/Library/news/heartnew.htm>

>

> Also see the Reuters news & the AHA news releases on the AHA's Internet

site

> at: http://www.americanheart.org/catalog/Whats_News_catpage64.html

> <http://www.americanheart.org/catalog/Whats_News_catpage64.html>

>

> _______________________________________

> The AHA Weekly Pulse is published by AHA Internal Communications. For more

> information or to submit items for inclusion, mail to:

> aha.int.comm@... or call Joan

Hammond

> at . Your comments and suggestions are welcome.