THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS Launches the Secretary's Challenge
2) Press Club Event
3) Take a Loved One to the Doctor on September 16
4) Hispanic Heritage Month
5) Personal Health: Why is your cholesterol level important?
6) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson's public schedule
HHS Launches the Secretary's Challenge
Secretary Thompson on Monday September 15 will kick off the Steps to a HealthierHHS Challenge, which will challenge Health and Human Services employees to engage in moderate exercise 30 minutes a day five days a week for six weeks. Secretary Thompson will launch the kick off event and lead employees in four hours of activities and free health screenings in the Humphrey Building.
"Since day one, disease prevention has been a top priority for me and the entire department," Secretary Thompson said. "I believe HHS should lead by example, and what better way than to encourage a little healthy competition among the HHS family."
Steps to a HealthierHHS is a pilot program for the Southwest complex of HHS and is aimed at encouraging employees to make small changes in their everyday lives to include physical activity and hopefully make it a life long habit. Soon, it will be rolled out for HHS employees across the country and to other federal agencies. Businesses, schools and neighborhoods will also be encouraged to adopt the program and decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity.
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Press Club Event
You are you cordially invited to attend a National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon Speech by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson on Thursday, September 18th at 12:30 p.m. The speech will focus on the Secretary's disease prevention and health promotion agenda, as well as touch on other issues in the news, including Medicare.
Where: National Press Club
When: Thursday, September 18th at 12:30 p.m.
Contact: National Press Club (202/662-7500)
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Take a Loved One to the Doctor on September 16
Secretary Thompson will be calling on citizens to Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day on Tuesday, Sept. 16 as part of his Closing the Health Gap education campaign. The day is designated to encourage families to visit a health professional or make an appointment to visit one. The message is aimed at communities that experience a high rate of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, among other diseases.
"Thousands of Americans are showing their family, friends and colleagues how much they care by taking someone to the doctor. This one preventive measure can help add years to your life," Secretary Thompson said. "Preventable diseases take a terrible toll on our nation, especially in minority communities. Doctor Day is about bringing people to health care early, when diseases can be prevented or treated successfully; it is also about creating awareness, providing information and motivating Americans to make healthier lifestyle choices."
For a second year, HHS has partnered with Closing the Health Gap co-founder ABC Radio Networks on this initiative. ABC radio personality, Tom Joyner is the honorary chairman. Radio Unica, a radio network with significant reach into Hispanic communities, is a new partner this year and is providing support through on-air messages and 12 regional health fairs throughout the fall.
This year, Doctor Day has expanded beyond the African-American community to include Hispanic American/Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native communities. More than 400 national, state and local organizations spanning 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have joined HHS to promote Doctor Day and host activities in their communities.
For more information, please call HHS press office at (202) 690-6343.
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Hispanic Heritage Month
The Department of Health and Human Services Department is organizing a series of events in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15. The following two events take place this week:
Monday, September 15
The National Institutes of Health Hispanic Employee Organization is sponsoring a seminar on Hispanic contributions to research in the United States, focusing on studies of novel molecular mechanisms regulating cell activity.
Thursday, September 18
HHS will conduct the 3rd annual Department-wide Forum on Hispanic Employment.
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Personal Health: Why is your cholesterol level important?
Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. A risk factor is a condition that increases your chance of getting a disease. In fact, the higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States. Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart disease.
How Does Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease?
When there is too much cholesterol (a fat-like substance) in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries. Over time, this buildup causes "hardening of the arteries" so that arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart is slowed down or blocked. The blood carries oxygen to the heart, and if enough blood and oxygen cannot reach your heart, you may suffer chest pain. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage, the result is a heart attack.
High blood cholesterol itself does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high. It is important to find out what your cholesterol numbers are because lowering cholesterol levels that are too high lessens the risk for developing heart disease and reduces the chance of a heart attack or dying of heart disease, even if you already have it. Cholesterol lowering is important for everyone--younger, middle age, and older adults; women and men; and people with or without heart disease.
What Do Your Cholesterol Numbers Mean?
Everyone age 20 and older should have his or her cholesterol measured at least once every 5 years. It is best to have a blood test called a "lipoprotein profile" to find out your cholesterol numbers. This blood test is done after a 9- to 12-hour fast and gives information about your:
If it is not possible to get a lipoprotein profile done, knowing your total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol can give you a general idea about your cholesterol levels. If your total cholesterol is 200 mg/dL* or more or if your HDL is less than 40 mg/dL, you will need to have a lipoprotein profile done.
HDL (good) cholesterol protects against heart disease, so for HDL, higher numbers are better. A level less than 40 mg/dL is low and is considered a major risk factor because it increases your risk for developing heart disease. HDL levels of 60 mg/dL or more help to lower your risk for heart disease.
Triglycerides can also raise heart disease risk. Levels that are borderline high (150-199 mg/dL) or high (200 mg/dL or more) may need treatment in some people.
What Affects Cholesterol Levels?
A variety of things can affect cholesterol levels. These are things you can do something about:
Diet. Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat make your blood cholesterol level go up. Saturated fat is the main culprit, but cholesterol in foods also matters. Reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet helps lower your blood cholesterol level.
Weight. Being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. It also tends to increase your cholesterol. Losing weight can help lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels, as well as raise your HDL and lower your triglyceride levels.
Physical Activity. Not being physically active is a risk factor for heart disease. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days.
Things you cannot do anything about also can affect cholesterol levels. These include:
Age and Gender. As women and men get older, their cholesterol levels rise. Before the age of menopause, women have lower total cholesterol levels than men of the same age. After the age of menopause, women's LDL levels tend to rise.
Heredity. Your genes partly determine how much cholesterol your body makes. High blood cholesterol can run in families.
What Is Your Risk of Developing Heart Disease or Having a Heart Attack?
In general, the higher your LDL level and the more risk factors you have (other than LDL), the greater your chances of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. Some people are at high risk for a heart attack because they already have heart disease. Other people are at high risk for developing heart disease because they have diabetes (which is a strong risk factor) or a combination of risk factors for heart disease.
Major Risk Factors That Affect Your LDL Goal
Treating High Cholesterol
The main goal of cholesterol-lowering treatment is to lower your LDL level enough to reduce your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. The higher your risk, the lower your LDL goal will be. To find your LDL goal, see the boxes below for your risk category. There are two main ways to lower your cholesterol:
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC)--includes a cholesterol-lowering diet (called the TLC diet), physical activity, and weight management. TLC is for anyone whose LDL is above goal.
Drug Treatment--if cholesterol-lowering drugs are needed, they are used together with TLC treatment to help lower your LDL.
If you are in...
To reduce your risk for heart disease or keep it low, it is very important to control any other risk factors you may have such as high blood pressure and smoking.
Lowering Cholesterol With Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC)
TLC is a set of things you can do to help lower your LDL cholesterol. The main parts of TLC are:
Drug Treatment
Even if you begin drug treatment to lower your cholesterol, you will need to continue your treatment with lifestyle changes. This will keep the dose of medicine as low as possible, and lower your risk in other ways as well. There are several types of drugs available for cholesterol lowering including statins, bile acid sequestrants, nicotinic acid, and fibric acids. Your doctor can help decide which type of drug is best for you. The statin drugs are very effective in lowering LDL levels and are safe for most people. Bile acid sequestrants also lower LDL and can be used alone or in combination with statin drugs. Nicotinic acid lowers LDL and triglycerides and raises HDL. Fibric acids lower LDL somewhat but are used mainly to treat high triglyceride and low HDL levels.
Once your LDL goal has been reached, your doctor may prescribe treatment for high triglycerides and/or a low HDL level, if present. The treatment includes losing weight if needed, increasing physical activity, quitting smoking, and possibly taking a drug.
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Secretary Tommy G. Thompson's public schedule:
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Last updated September 15, 2003
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Contact the HHS Newsletter Team.