Texascvd and Stroke Digest
TexasCVD and Stroke Digest
October/November2010
This Digest is provided by the Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Program at the Texas Department of State Health Services in support of the Texas CVD and Stroke Partnership. If you did not receive this Digest as a subscriber and would like to subscribe, please visit Information about educational opportunities, resources, tools, and reports is compiled from national, state, and local partners. The Digest does not reflect endorsements by DSHS or the Partnership.
NEWS FROM AND ABOUT OUR PARTNERS
Congratulations go out to Kinnie Parker, MPH, CHES;who has been elected as the new Partnership Chair-Elect of the Texas CVD and Stroke Partnership! Kinnie will serve as the Chair-Elect for this year 2010- 2011 and then in the following year she will become the chair of the Partnership. Kinnie is currently a program coordinator for the NacogdochesMemorialHospital. She has been helping the Texas reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke as a TX CVD and Stroke Member since 2007. Before supporting Nacogdoches, she was a program specialist for the DSHS Health and Wellness Program in Austin.
Like the other candidates, on Kinnie’s nomination application for the Chair-Elect position she too was very selfless. When it came to the question of listing her “awards and recognitions achievements”; Kinnie humbly expressed in her own words, “I consider the “awards of my community organizations” as recognitions, as I do my work for its benefit. My award is the great people that I work with to get there.” One recent award included in her accomplishment list was 2009 the Heart and Stroke Healthy City Gold Level Award for Nacogdoches. As she advances in her career and with her volunteer activities, she has seen programs that she helped initiate and develop, grow into a community norm, like the Heart and StrokeHealthyCity award.
Besides determining upcoming leadership at the last Partnership Strategic Planning meeting hosted by the University of Texas Medical Center at Brackenridge in Austin; the Partnership Goal Committees identified their goals for the coming year.
Goal Committee I -Recognizing groups in communitiesthat provide health programs that include best practices and guidelines. These groups will receive recognition for their achievements.
Goal Committee II –Implementing sodium restriction and hypertension reduction by working on procurements of food in schools, restaurants and hospitals.
Goal Committee III - Making the Stroke Public Education Tool Kit available to RAC's; also provide tool kit and information to GETAC so they can be aware; identify underserved areasto implement the tool kit; measures impact of the tool kitin community.Mentoring hospitals to establish Primary Stroke Centers in areas of need throughout the state.
Goal Committee IV- Improve the quality of care of CV health; and raise awareness;collaborate with regional extension centers;to establish built in quality measures; raise awareness of community resources for secondary prevention;be culturally sensitive; and identify materialsand resources.
It was a successful meeting in that the attendance was strong, there was a very diverse set of organizations represented and the meeting objectives were met.
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors News
Former Co-Chair Jane Osmondis one of the Cardiovascular Health (CVH) Steering Committee Members at Largeand Chairs the CapacityBuilding Committee.
This month NACDD turns its spotlight onto Michelle L. Cook, a BRFSS Epidemiologist at the Texas Department of State Health Services where she examines and analyzes BRFSS data on chronic diseases and health behaviors. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors News eBulletin link is:
UPDATED GUIDELINES! The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Guidelines for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack have recently been updated and will be published in the journal Stroke in January 2011. An online version ahead of the print version can be found here:
A variety of other secondary prevention guidelines related to cardiovascular disease and stroke can be found at This web site is a collaborative effort of the TMF Health Quality Institute and the Goal IV Committee of the Texas Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Partnership. Check out the web site today for more information and resources.
HHS announced the release of $727 million in health care reform funds awarded
HHS announced the release of $727 million in health care reform funds awarded to 143 community health centers across the nation.Texasreceived $17.8 million for 3 centers, as follows:
- Travis County Healthcare District, Austin: $12 million
- BarrioComprehensiveFamilyHealthCareCenter, San Antonio: $3.52 million
- Community Health Development, Uvalde: $2.29 million
These health care reform dollars support major construction and renovation at the 143 community health centers nationwide and build on the investment made with Recovery Act funding. Over the next five years, the Affordable Care Act provides $11 billion in funding for the operation, expansion and construction of community health centers across the country. This expansion of sites and services will help community health centers serve nearly double the number of patients receiving care, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.
For your information, the news release is pasted below and available at: The list of community health center awards by states is located at:
Austin Receives $3.7 million of Sustainable Communities Grant
CANews, Oct 20, 2010
REPORTS and DATA
GreatValley schools make healthy food fun
October 12, 2010, Philadelphia Inquirer, by Dan Hardy, Inquirer Staff Writer
Gold medals instead of gold stars: Schools with healthy makeovers get awards and money
October 12, 2010, Los Angeles Times
Video games help schools get kids moving, exercising more
October 12, 2010,USA Today, by Nanci Hellmich
Taking Blood Pressure Drugs at Bedtime May Boost Effectiveness
Night-time dosing causes normal dip, reducing risk of heart attack, stroke, study finds
October 12, 2010, Health Day News, by Julia Vantine
Insulin Resistance May Be Associated With Stroke Risk
October 8, 2010, JAMA Press Release
CHICAGO – Insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin produced by the body becomes less effective in reducing blood glucose levels, appears to be associated with an increased risk of stroke in individuals without diabetes, according to a report in the October issue ofArchives of Neurology, one of theJAMA/Archives journals.
Insulin resistance originates from several factors, including genetics, a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, according to background information in the article. The condition contributes significantly to the risk of cardiovascular disease, but whether it predicts ischemic stroke (interruption in blood flow to the brain due to a blood clot or another artery blockage) is still a matter of debate.
One widely used tool to estimate insulin sensitivity is the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), calculated using fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin levels. Tatjana Rundek, M.D., Ph.D., of Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, and colleagues assessed insulin resistance using HOMA for 1,509 non-diabetic participants in the Northern Manhattan Study, a study assessing stroke risk, incidence and prognosis in a multi-ethnic urban community. Participants were followed for an average of 8.5 years.
During the follow-up period, vascular events occurred in 180 participants, including 46 who had fatal or non-fatal ischemic strokes, 45 who had fatal or non-fatal heart attacks and 121 who died of vascular causes. Individuals in the top one-fourth (quartile) of HOMA index had an increased risk of stroke compared to those in the other three quartiles of the HOMA index. Adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors—including glucose level, obesity and metabolic syndrome—did not diminish the association. The relationship between insulin resistance and the risk of first stroke was stronger in men than women but did not vary by racial or ethnic group.
Individuals in the top quarter of insulin resistance had a 45 percent greater risk of any type of vascular event. However, insulin resistance was not associated with heart attack or vascular death separately.
“There are several possible reasons for the stronger effect of insulin resistance on the risk of ischemic stroke than of myocardial infarction in the present study compared within other studies,” the authors write. It may be because individuals with a history of heart attack were excluded from this study, or because factors associated with insulin resistance—including high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels and low HDL or “good” cholesterol levels—are more significant risk factors for stroke than for heart attack.
“These findings emphasize the need to better characterize individuals at increased risk for ischemic stroke and the potential role of primary preventive therapies targeted at insulin resistance,” the authors conclude.
(Arch Neurol. 2010;67[10]:1195-1200. Available pre-embargo to the media at
Editor’s Note: This study was supported by the Gilbert Baum Memorial Grant and the Goddess Fund for Stroke Research in Women, by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, by the Kathleen Scott Research Fellowship from the American Heart Association and a grant from the GeneralClinicalResearchCenter. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Researchers Say a Walnut-Rich Diet May Reduce Stress, Bad Cholesterol
October 8, 2010, Web MD, ByBill Hendrick, WebMD Health News
Urging Exercise at Faith-Based Meetings May Boost Activity
Intervention combining religion and fitness had good results among older blackwomen
October 8, 2010, Health Day News
Cigarette Smoke Linked To ADHD, Headaches And Stuttering In Children
October 8, 2010, Medical News Today
Dogs alert diabetes patients when blood sugar is off
October 14, 2010, USA Today, by Sharon L. Peters Special for USA TODAY
Nearly 1 in 5 W.Va. 5th Graders May Have High Blood Pressure
Similar findings noted elsewhere, researchers say
October 14, 2010, Health Day, by Serena Gordon,HealthDay Reporter
Watermelon Lowers Blood Pressure, Study Finds
October 14, 2010, Science Daily News
Front of Food Labels Should Focus on Calories, Salt, Fats: Report
Experts say this info gives consumers best guidance to cut disease risk
October 14, 2010, Health Day News,by Amanda Gardner
Screen Time May Consume Nearly 1/3 of Day for U.S. Kids
Child experts issue updated policy statement on use of electronic media for entertainment
October 14, 2010, Health Day News
Study examines 'true' cost of cigarettes -- and smoking
October 14, 2010, Los Angeles Times
Costs Of Smoking: Years-Of-Healthy-Life Lost To Smoking
October 14, 2010, Medical News Today
How healthcare professionals use social networks, from Facebook to Groupon
October 14, 2010, Los Angeles Times
School cafeterias to try psychology in lunch line
AP, 10/12/2010
Neighborhoods Can Have Depressing Effect on Health, According to Study
Science Daily, 10/09/2010
Reshaping the Pyramid: Federal Dietary Guidelines toChange
Time Magazine, 10/04/2010
Flow of Empty Calories Into Children's Food Supply Must Be Reduced, Experts Urge
Science Daily, 10/01/2010
RESOURCES, TOOLS, EVIDENCE BASED PROGRAMS / PRACTICES
CDC's Healthy Communities Program Web site:
CDC’s The Health Communicator’s Social Media Toolkit:
Communications... Don't Let a Crisis Sneak up on You
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Association for Community Health Improvement 2011 National Conference
Lunch & Learn: The Time Management Myth
Emerging Nonprofit Professional Network Lunch Series
Cultivating Donors: Nourishing Relationships and Soliciting Major Gifts
Keeping Your Donors
FUNDING AVAILABLE
Funding News and Grant Tips
Database... Five Steps to Secure Your Organization
Boards... Nine Ways of Thinking like an ‘Owner'
Management... 10 Elements of Openness and Information Sharing
Public Funding Opportunities
Service Area Competition: HRSA-11-012
Service Area Competition: HRSA-11-013
Service Area Competition: HRSA-11-014
Private Funding Opportunities
Seed Grant Research Program
Clinical Scientist Development Award
Public Health Law Research
2011 Champions for Healthy Kids Grant Program
2011 Minority Nurse Scholarship Program
ADA Scholarship Programs
Disclaimer: Content is selected solely on the basis of newsworthiness and potential interest to readers. DSHS assumes no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by DSHS. Opinions expressed by the original authors of these items, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the official position of DSHS. References to products, trade names, publications, news sources, and non-DSHS Web sites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement.
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