Build Health Equity with AHA’s Online Lessons and Toolkits


Man on computer

The American Heart Association (AHA) is working to boost health equity through a variety of online health lessons, called EmPOWERED to Serve. EmPOWERED to Serve includes over a dozen science-based toolkits and lessons covering health education and community advocacy. Toolkits are free and open to the public and can be reached on the EmPOWERED to Serve Health Lessons website. “The EmPOWERED to Serve health lessons offer a way to engage and motivate communities to create a culture of health,” according to the AHA website. Let’s dive into why these health lessons are a useful and how they can be beneficial for all! Health Disparities Among Communities Where you live can have a big impact on your health. In fact, our health is influenced by a variety of non-medical ...

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The Big Toll Alcohol Is Taking on Your Heart


Heartache

More than 10 million Americans, including higher rates of Latinos, excessively drink alcohol to the point it negatively impacts their lives. Now, new research links alcohol abuse to a big cause of death: heart disease. Abusing alcohol increases the likelihood of suffering atrial fibrillation, heart attack or congestive heart failure, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, CNN reports. “One of the most surprising findings... is that people who abused alcohol are at increased risk for heart attack or myocardial infarction,” said Dr. Gregory M. Marcus, director of clinical research in the Division of Cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco and senior author of the study. “Past data suggests that moderate drinking ...

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Which Latinos Are at Highest Risk of Diabetes and Obesity? Puerto Ricans? Mexicans? Cubans?


population of united states

Research has long shown that U.S. Latinos face higher rates of diabetes and obesity. But are there differences among Mexicans? Cubans? Puerto Ricans? The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), the first long-term study to look exclusively at the health of Latinos, is studying heart disease, obesity, and diabetes among a cohort of more than 16,000 U.S. Latino adults of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, South American and Central American heritage in the Bronx, Chicago, San Diego and Miami areas, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports. For diabetes, a study of this cohort found that adults of South American heritage have the lowest rate of diabetes. Only about 10 percent of them have diabetes compared with about 18 percent of persons of ...

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Iniciativas Animan a Latinos Dejar de Tomar Bebidas Azucaradas



Guillermina Rice se ha dedicado a velar por los niños en la escuela primaria de su hijo. Es allí donde ha promovido una iniciativa para el consumo de bebidas saludables. Para Rice, el interés en nutrición y hábitos para una vida saludable es un tema personal. La diabetes afecta a familiares de la representante de ventas de 47 años de edad. Cuando su hijo Aero, quien ahora tiene 13 años, asistía a Central Elementary School en San Diego, ella empezó a cuidar a los niños durante el recreo como voluntaria. “Es triste ver como todos nuestros niños que están en la escuela son como discriminados por los otros chiquitos porque están un poquito de sobrepeso”, dijo Rice, quien vive en City Heights, un vecindario de San Diego famoso por sus comunidades de inmigrantes que ...

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12 Odd but True Health Tips for Latinos



Eat healthy. Exercise more. Sleep more. Drink more water. These tips are all essential to good health, but they're fairly straightforward with commonsense applications. Health magazine has new list of 12 health tips that may seem strange, but work. We break down the implications of several tips for Latinos. For healthy teeth, don’t brush after meals. Acidic foods, such as citrus fruits, tomatoes, sodas, or sports drinks can soften tooth enamel. Brushing your teeth after meals can speed up the acid’s effect on tooth enamel and even erode the layer underneath. It is suggested that waiting 30 to 60 minutes after eating will protect teeth better. This is good advice for Latinos, as they generally lag behind other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. in oral and dental ...

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Study: Latino Heart Failure Patients Less Likely to Be Aware of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators


senior Latino man suffering from bad pain in his chest cardiac arrest CPR heart coronavirus

Only one in five heart failure patients especially Latino and Blacks are counseled about the option and benefits of receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ( a battery-powered device that monitors heart rate and if needed delivers electric shocks to restore normal heartbeat), according to a recent study by the American Heart Association (AHA). “Among patients who were counseled, black and Hispanic patients were less likely than their white counterparts to get an ICD. The data show 65 percent of whites got the device or planned to get it, compared with 58 percent of blacks and 56 percent of Hispanics, “ AHA wrote in their news portal American Heart Association News. “Those patients, randomized clinical trials have shown, are more likely to live … if they get a ...

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Strokes Among Young Adults Surge 44%, Study Shows



Between 2000 and 2010, strokes among young adults ages 25-44 increased by 44% compared to a 20% decreased among the aged, according to a recent study released in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Medical News Today reports.  What’s causing the rise in strokes among young adults? According to doctors, the same lifestyle risk factors that affect the aged, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, may be causing the sudden rise in strokes among young adults. “When people think of stroke, they think of Grandpa who smokes and has high blood pressure,” said neurologist Lee Schwamm, director of Massachusetts General Hospital, Acute Stroke Services. “And while he’s more likely to have one, it doesn’t mean that if you’re young and healthy you can’t ...

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Latino Health Disparities: Improving, But More Needs to be Done



The latest annual report on the nation’s health by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows Latinos are living longer than whites and blacks and health disparities are narrowing. Despite the latest improvements in health disparities, Latinos still have the highest incidence of high blood pressure and childhood obesity, The American Heart Association News (AHA) reports. “High blood pressure remains much more common among black Americans, and Hispanic children and teens are still more likely to be obese than their black, white and Asian counterparts.,” AHA said in a written statement. The CDC’s annual health report is a “snapshot” of the nation’s health “highlighting recent successes and challenges in fighting critical health problems in the United ...

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Lace Up & Go



Did you take a 30-minute walk today? According to research, going for a stroll during your lunch break or after work can significantly reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. To raise awareness of the health benefits of walking the American Heart Association is challenging everyone to lace up their sneakers and go for a 30-minute stroll! To learn more click ...

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