PCNA News
Five Family-Friendly Tips to Promote Healthy Hearts at All Ages
Practical Advice During American Heart Month for Family-focused Lifestyle Interventions
MADISON, WISCONSIN (February 1, 2010) – Each year, February marks a shift in the nation’s collective focus, as matters of the heart take center stage. While images of hearts abound, from pastel candies to Valentine’s Day cards, health experts around the country are asking us all to turn our attention to a decidedly less-endearing picture: heart disease.
Prevention of coronary heart disease is highlighted throughout the month of February in honor of American Heart Month. This year, the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) is asking American families to take a closer look at everyday habits that can help promote a healthy heart and reduce the risk of the nation’s number one cause of death for men and women.
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Experts warn that childhood obesity will fuel an epidemic of future cardiovascular problems
Familyatheart.org offers family-focused tips to safeguard your family
WASHINGTON (November 23, 2009) -- As the American Heart Association’s annual meeting came to a close this week in Orlando, Florida, the stark implications of our nation’s growing obesity epidemic on future cardiovascular risk were woefully apparent. Gains made in recent decades to reduce risk factors for heart disease, the decrease in cigarette smoking for example, are quickly being obscured by the nation’s new silent killer: body fat.
Obesity has clearly emerged as a very important factor to consider in children’s cardiovascular risk, said Laura Hayman, Ph.D., RN, a leading researcher on obesity and cardiovascular disease in children, adolescents, and families. The increase in the prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities is a real cause for concern for future generations.
National Survey Findings: Americans are Concerned about Heart Health,
But Not Proactive Enough to Prevent It
Trends in Reducing Heart Disease Risk Are Headed in Wrong Direction
WASHINGTON (November 2, 2009) - Recent research indicates that despite decades of progress, fewer Americans are now considered low risk for heart disease compared to years past. Adding fuel to the fire, a new study is making headlines with the alarming statistic that 7 in 10 obese teens already have at least one risk factor for heart disease. To help educate families about prevention, the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) has released findings from a new national consumer survey and launched a campaign to educate families about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.
The national survey revealed that more than three in five (61%) Americans incorrectly believe that the processes related to heart disease do not begin until adulthood. Alarmingly, fewer than four in ten (38%) correctly surmise that people should be concerned about living a heart-healthy lifestyle beginning in childhood and continuing throughout every life stage.
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2009 Clinical Performance Measures for Adults with Peripheral Artery Disease
ACCF/AHA/ACR/SCAI/SIR/SVM/SVN/SVS 2009 Clinical Performance Measures for Adults With Peripheral Artery Disease. The hard copy of this document will be published in the September 29, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The US Senate Passes a Bill that allows the FDA to Regulate Tobacco
Landmark legislation approved by the Senate recently will be affecting the 20% of Americans who smoke.
The legislation will give the federal government new powers to oversee tobacco products, allowing regulators to control factors including the amount of addictive nicotine in a cigarette and how that cigarette is packaged and marketed. The $89 billion tobacco industry will face new requirements to disclose the ingredients and will also see limitations on how they market their products. The new restrictions aim at preventing younger smokers from starting to smoke. Fruit flavoring and the use of cartoon characters will be banned since it has such a high appeal for children. The law grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the power to ban the flavorings that are added to some tobacco products and require new warning labels that will aim to lessen tobacco use among young people. The 79 to 17 vote will help the bill become law. It will now go to the House, which previously passed a very similar version in April. The battle to regulate tobacco has come up several times in the past, but has always failed to become law. Over the years, the changing social attitudes toward smoking have helped transform the idea of regulation from controversial to common sense.
Cardiovascular Risk Survey Results Unveiled in JCN:
Do PCNA Nurses Practice What They Preach?
July 7, 2009
In the July/August 2009 issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (JCN), three PCNA members, Joan M. Fair, PhD, FAHA, Meg Gulanick, PhD, APRN, FAHA, FAAN, and Lynne T. Braun, PhD, CNP, FAHA, FAAN have published the results of a new research project, “Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Lifestyle Habits Among Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses.” This paper is now available on the PCNA website, with permission by JCN.
PCNA is proud to feature the results of this important study in our ongoing effort to support nurses as leaders in cardiovascular risk reduction. As the authors explain, “The dissemination of these survey results to nursing professionals is a critical step to prompting overall risk awareness and could lead to health improvements among nurses. This study also provides information for future health education and interventions directed at nurses’ health.” Special thanks go to the 1,345 PCNA members who participated in this study.
Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing Receives Impact Factor
June 30, 2009
We are delighted to announce that the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (JCN), long listed in the Science Citation Index, has received its first impact factor. JCN, with an impact factor of 1.47, is listed 9th out of 60 journals! PCNA is quite proud of this accomplishment because JCN has ranked in the top 10 with its first rating. We thank you for your support of the JCN and we hope that you will continue to submit quality manuscripts and encourage your colleagues and students to do the same. It is only through the submission of high quality manuscripts that are cited by others that JCN can continue to be rated so highly.
Americans Rank Prevention as Most Important Health Reform Priority
June 8, 2009
Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a new public opinion survey, which finds that Americans rank prevention as the most important health care reform priority, and overwhelmingly support increasing funding for prevention programs to reduce disease and keep people healthy. In the poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies, 70 percent of Americans ranked investing in prevention between an eight and 10 on a scale of zero to ten, where zero means not at all an important health care priority and 10 means very important. Forty-six percent rated prevention as a 10 out of 10. Overall, prevention was rated higher than all other proposals, including providing tax credits to small businesses and prohibiting health insurers from denying coverage based on health status
