Organizations Partner with the NHLBI to Spread The Heart Truth

The NHLBI, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health, the American Heart Association, WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, and other organizations committed to the health and well-being of women, recently unveiled The Heart Truth, a national campaign to improve the heart health of women.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. About one of every three American women dies of heart disease. Heart disease also can lead to lifelong disability. Nonetheless, many women ages 40-60 do not realize that they are at risk. The Heart Truth campaign was launched to increase awareness that heart disease is the number one cause of death of women and to motivate women to take heart health seriously, to talk with their doctors about it, and to take steps to reduce their risks.

The campaign includes television, radio, and print public service announcements, which use hard-hitting visuals and testimonials to deliver a wake-up call and encourage women to focus as much attention on their “inner” selves as they do on their "outer" selves. A speaker’s kit with a video is being developed, and many of the materials, including a comprehensive Healthy Heart Handbook for Women are already available from the campaign Web site.

30 Years of Sickle Cell Research

Sickle Cell Research for Treatment and Cure, a new publication from the NHLBI, commemorates the 30th anniversary of the National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act (P.L. 92-294). Since 1972, the NHLBI has committed over $923 million for research programs to improve the lives of persons with sickle cell disease. The booklet describes results of clinical research supported by the NHLBI. It also provides examples of how basic science advances achieved prior to the 1970s enabled progress against sickle cell disease and describes ongoing studies to develop a cure.