Appalachian Cardiovascular Health Summit
See the dark parts? That's bad.
Heart disease is the number one killer on this continent, and in Appalachia the numbers are even worse.
The Centers for Disease Control says that men and women living in Appalachia, on average, are 20% more likely to die of heart disease. To address this dangerous issue, medical professionals and officials from all 13 Appalachian states are meeting in Charleston, WV right now in order to discuss the problem and create, "an Appalachian Cardiovascular Health Network that will be dedicated to ongoing efforts to improve the cardiovascular health of people in the region."
Understanding exactly how our Appalachian culture and heritage relates to cardiovascular health will be key in reversing the trends in heart disease here. From there, it is vital that we educate the people of this region on the dangerous habits that are killing us at an alarming rate.
More information and resources:
- View the press release here.
- The CDC's Heart Disease Fact Sheet
- CARDIAC WV Project
- WebMD's Heart Disease Health Center
- Are you Heart Savvy?
- American Heart Association
- Heart Disease resources for women
- Wikipedia
- An holistic approach to cardiovascular health
- Homeopathy and the heart
1 comment:
A few months ago I wrote an article about being raised on taters and lard. I read back over that article after reading your post and I realize the problem that we have in Appalachia; pride and stubborness. We read the statistics, we know that we are killing ourselves, yet we refuse to give up our sausage, gravy, biscuits, and fried taters, and heaven help the man that tells us to give up tobacco. The fact is we KNOW what is killing us, but we're too proud to do anything about it. Coming from a LONG line of stubborn Appalachians, that's the way I see it.
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