American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown Applauds Benefits of Affordable Care Act for Heart Disease and Stroke Patients One Year Later

Washington, DC (March 17, 2011) - One year after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, prospects for a healthier future have improved dramatically for millions of heart disease and stroke patients. As a result of reforms implemented over the last year, patients now have more options and protections for attaining quality, affordable health care. For example, preventive services have become a reality for many families and Medicare beneficiaries. Lifetime limits on coverage are now banned. Children with medical conditions can no longer be denied coverage and no American can be dropped from their coverage simply because they become sick. Annual wellness visits are now available for Medicare beneficiaries and prescription drugs are more affordable for many on Medicare. New Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans also allow patients who have been denied coverage due to their medical condition to receive insurance coverage for a wide range of benefits including physician’s services, hospital care and prescription drugs. Although these plans may not be a feasible option for everyone, they are a pathway to insurance coverage for patients who cannot access coverage in the individual insurance market.
For those who need help navigating complex insurance issues, the new Consumer Assistance Programs (CAP) offer help to consumers who have problems with their coverage. Under the law, 30 states have received funding to implement the CAP programs which can be a useful resource for individuals who need insurance assistance. In addition, all young adults including those with congenital heart disease and other chronic conditions can continue to receive necessary treatment under their parents’ plan until age 26. These protections have already improved the health insurance marketplace for many Americans and more options will be made available as other reforms take effect in the coming years. With medical expenses for heart disease and stroke expected to triple by 2020, it’s more important than ever to implement reforms that provide access to affordable care for patients.
The anniversary of the Affordable Care Act should be a reminder of how far we’ve come in overhauling a broken health care system that too often doesn’t meet the needs of patients with heart disease or stroke. Let’s build on these accomplishments and continue to help all Americans gain access to quality, affordable care in their communities.
Visit www.heartsforhealthcare.org and http://www.healthcare.gov/.
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Help The AHA Win $200,000 By Clicking TODAY

Help us receive $200,000 in funding! If you haven’t already, all you have to do is join Members Project®, and cast a vote for us each week. After November 30th, Members Project will tally the votes and announce the winners for the voting round. We want to be a part of that list. Vote today and every week for the American Heart Association!


To join Members Project and/or cast your votes, go to: http://www.takepart.com/membersproject

Oklahoma Heart Institute Recognized as a Top Get With The GuidelinesSM Participant

Oklahoma Heart Institute – Hospital, on the campus of Hillcrest Medical Center, has been recognized for its demonstrated commitment to using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible care to patients through the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the GuidelinesSM (GWTG) program.
Introduced in 2000, GWTG helps hospitals close the gap between recommended treatment and actual treatment of heart patients. Hospitals implementing the quality improvement program generally see measurable results.
Each year, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize hospitals for their success in using GWTG to improve quality of care for heart disease and stroke patients.

Read MORE.

Michigan becomes the next state to go smoke free!

The Michigan legislature passed a measure that prohibits smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces. The American Heart Association, along with several other health organizations, plans to push a similar bill during the 2010 session.


Michigan lawmakers pass smoking ban that exempts 3 Detroit casinos, cigar bars, home offices
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
Associated Press Writer
(c) 2009. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Legislature passed a long-delayed smoking ban Thursday, with exceptions for three Detroit casinos that have to compete with tribal casinos not affected by the ban.

The Democrat-led House agreed Thursday afternoon to slight changes made by the Republican-led Senate earlier in the day. The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who welcomed the bill's passage.

"It's a terrific gift to Michigan," she told reporters.

The ban will take effect in May 2010. It applies to all bars, restaurants and work places, except for the Detroit casinos, cigar bars, tobacco specialty stores, home offices and motor vehicles.

Although smoking will be allowed on casino gambling floors, it will be banned in the casinos' bars, restaurants and hotels.

The Senate approved a ban with no exceptions last year, but that bill failed in the House, which wanted the exceptions for the Detroit casinos. The House in May passed the bill adopted Thursday by the Senate.

With Granholm's signature, Michigan will become the 38th state to limit smoking in public places such as government buildings, bars and restaurants, according to Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, who has kept alive the push for a statewide smoking ban. He favors a total ban, but was satisfied with the progress so far.

"We've moved the ball down the court, and even scored a basket," he said of Thursday's vote. "We haven't scored a three-pointer."

Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, also wanted casinos included in the ban but was pleased with the Senate vote.

"It will be a great day in this state when we are totally, 100 percent smoke free ... (but) I'm very proud of what we've done today," he said.

Several senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said they objected to the ban because it intruded on decisions bar and restaurant owners should make based on their customers' desires.

"This is a blatant overreach by government," Bishop said.

The Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, which lobbied against the measure, predicted the smoking ban would cost the state thousands of jobs.

"It's our elected officials' responsibility in this economic climate to pass legislation that helps all Michigan businesses, not just a few select business groups," executive director Lance Binoniemi said in a statement.

Public health officials praised the measure. "The Legislature today has made a great stride forward toward building healthier communities for everyone in Michigan," said Dr. Greg Holzman, the chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Among nearby states, only Indiana doesn't have some type of smoking ban in place. Michigan lawmakers have been trying for more than a decade to pass a ban.

Some residents remain opposed to it, including Don Doze, 54, who was eating Thursday in the smoking section of a Big Boy restaurant in Detroit.

"I want to enjoy my food or drink, and enjoy my cigarette," said Doze, a Detroit retiree who has smoked for decades. "I don't want to walk away from my table to go outside and smoke."
Heaven White, 35, of Detroit, who was sitting in the nonsmoking section of the same restaurant, said a ban on smoking in restaurants and the workplace is good. Still, she said smoking should be allowed in bars.

"Smoking goes with drinking," White said. "That's the place you go to be a bad girl, a bad boy."
Mike Nolan, owner of a tobacco shop in downtown Traverse City and president of the Michigan Cigar Association, described the bill as a "mixed blessing." He was pleased outlets such as his were exempt but said the measure treats smokers unfairly.

"It should be a matter of choice -- for the customer, for the bar and restaurant owner, for the employee working there," Nolan said.

Granholm said the lack of a smoking ban made Michigan look like a state that didn't care about health. That perception should change with a ban being put in place, she said.

After the Senate passed the ban 24-13 Thursday, the House passed it 75-30.
Republican Sen. Bill Hardiman of Kentwood didn't vote because he was absent. Only one Senate Democrat, Sen. Jim Barcia of Bay City, joined a dozen Senate Republicans in opposing the bill.
In the House, the bill was opposed by 23 Republicans and seven Democrats. Five representatives didn't vote. Rep. Ed Clemente, a Lincoln Park Democrat who was in the restaurant business, said he didn't vote because he had a conflict of interest.
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Associated Press reporters David Runk in Detroit, John Flesher in Traverse City and Tim Martin in Lansing contributed to this story.

A little change can go a long way

I'm sure you are all sick of hearing about "change". It was a popular campaign slogan last year and seems to be the topic of conversation everytime you turn on the TV. Well the change I'm writing about has little to do with oil prices or bank bailouts and more to do with the lifestyle decisions you make every day.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the united states, with the two main causes being obesity and smoking. With 65% of Oklahomans being obese, and 24% being smokers it's clear that it's time for some change in our state.

This week the Oklahoman printed an article by David Zizzo where Dr. Jorge Saucedo talk about the extreme need for change in Oklahoma. I've posted the link below and encourage everyone to read it and think about what changes they are giong to make to fight heart disease and stroke.

Remember, You're the Cure!

Change is a ‘must’
By DAVID ZIZZO, Staff Writer
Published: October 3, 2009
Read more: http://newsok.com/article/3405429#ixzz0TRuicGLd

Heart attack rates drop after smoking bans, continue downward over time

Please take a look this story about a recent study on smoke-free air laws. We have known that smoke-free laws reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and that will reduce heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer over the long term. However, more and more studies are showing that communities that pass smoke-free laws are seeing an immediate and significant reduction in heart attacks after the laws go into effect.

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DALLAS, Sept. 21, 2009 — One year after passing smoking bans, communities in North America and Europe had 17 percent fewer heart attacks compared to communities without smoking restrictions, and the number of heart attacks kept decreasing with time, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The report is a meta-analysis of 13 studies in which researchers examined changes in heart attack rates after smoking bans were enacted in communities in the United States, Canada and Europe. The researchers found that heart attack rates started to drop immediately following implementation of the law, reaching 17 percent after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with about a 36 percent drop three years after enacting the restrictions.

“While we obviously won’t bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings give us evidence that in the short- to medium-term, smoking bans will prevent a lot of heart attacks,” said James M. Lightwood, Ph.D., co-author of the study and assistant adjunct professor in the department of clinical pharmacy at the University of California–San Francisco. “The studies on this issue now have long enough follow-up periods so that we can see exactly how big the effect is.”

Lightwood also noted that the community effect is consistent with probable individual risk and exposure scenarios.

For example, according to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2009 Update, non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work have a 25 percent to 30 percent increased risk of developing heart disease. This new research suggests that the individual increased risk may be higher, said Lightwood.

“This study adds to the already strong evidence that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100 percent smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public,” Lightwood said. “Now we have a better understanding of how you can predict what will happen if you impose a smoking-free law.”

David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention and Professor of Public Health Sciences and Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, and an American Heart Association national spokesperson said the paper provides strong support for the contention that smoke free laws will improve public health. “This is good evidence that the benefits are realistic and consistent with reasonable estimates of the harm imposed by secondhand smoke,” Goff said.

“It is important to move forward now with widespread implementation of smoke-free laws,” he added. “At a time of great concern over the financial sustainability of our healthcare system, smoke free laws represent an inexpensive approach to reducing heart attacks, and, probably, other cardiovascular conditions.”

U.S. Life Expectancy Up, Heart Disease and Stroke Death Rates Down

The average U.S. life expectancy reached 78 years in 2006. In the same year, heart disease and stroke death rates declined by 5.5 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively. Death rates also declined for adult diabetes (by 5.3 percent) and high blood pressure (by 5.0 percent).

The data is based on a compilation of 95 percent of all U.S. death certificates, as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System.