Promote Health Research in Illinois

Illinois House Bill 5076 was developed by the Illinois Department of Public Health and is supported by a number of public health advocacy organizations as well as academic research institutions. If enacted, the bill will promote critically-important academic research on biomedical and health issues by setting up strict rules allowing IDPH to share certain data with researchers as long as the confidentiality of that data is carefully protected. In simple terms, under this legislation IDPH will be allowed to share the name, address and other personal information of people involved in the research study only if approved by an independent review board.

House Bill 5076 passed the House by a vote of 106-0! Please follow the link below to contact your Senator to ask them to co-sponsor and vote for HB 5076 in the Senate:

Support House Bill 5076

Responsible Information-sharing is vital to carrying out biomedical research moving us toward a healthier future free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. At the same time, confidentiality of that information must be protected. Whether studying the risk factors of these diseases, discovering treatments, or ensuring a better quality of life for heart and stroke survivors -- this legislation accomplishes both goals. Under this legislation, the name, address or other unique personal identifier of an individual supplying the data or described in it cannot be disclosed unless an IDPH-approved independent Institutional Review Board or its equivalent on the protection of human subjects in research has reviewed and approved the data request.

Support House Bill 5076

Thank you for your help on this important health issue.

Save the Date! Kane/DuPage Counties' Go Red For Women Luncheon!

Kane/DuPage Counties’ Go Red For Women Suburban Luncheon

Please join the American Heart Association for health exhibits,screenings and social networking followed by Passion speakers at our luncheon hosted by Laura Schwartz.

For questions, please contact (312) 476-6667 or email jodi.beyhl@heart.org

Friday, May 21st, 2010

10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Hilton Lisle/Naperville

3003 Corporate West Drive, Lisle, Illinois

HUNDREDS OF CHICAGOANS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL START! WALKING DAY WITH RALLY AT DALEY PLAZA ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 AT NOON

Bernie Salazar from NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” to host the lively lunchtime rally

The American Heart Association is calling on Chicago-area residents to get out and walk for 30 minutes on National Start! Walking Day—Wednesday, April 7. Residents are invited to join hundreds of other participants at the National Start! Walking Day rally, which will begin at noon at Daley Plaza. This event, to be hosted by Bernie Salazar from NBC’s hit show “The Biggest Loser,” is one of more than 100 Start! rallies being held across the country on April 7.

Start! is the American Heart Association’s national campaign that encourages people to live longer, healthier lives through walking. Walking has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity, and just 30 minutes of walking per day can reduce risk of coronary disease, improve blood pressure and lower the risk of obesity, diabetes and several types of cancer.

Hundreds of Chicagoans are expected to leave the office on April 7 to take a 30-minute walk, ending at Daley Plaza for a lively lunch-time rally filled with music, entertainment and exercises. Bernie Salazar, the at-home winner of season five of NBC’s hit show “The Biggest Loser,” will be on-hand to lead the rally.

“Healthy lifestyle choices should be a community priority. Nearly 67 percent of Americans are overweight and are at risk for heart complications from sedentary lives,” said Scot Roskelley, communications director for the mid-America region of Aetna, a local Start! cause sponsor. “Walking just 30 minutes a day can make a big difference in your cardiovascular health.”

A person is 1.5 to 2.4 times more likely to have coronary heart disease if he or she is inactive, but walking vigorously for 30 minutes a day can help reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Adults should get at least two and a half hours a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. Studies show that some adults may gain as many as two hours of life expectancy for each hour of regular, vigorous physical activity.

About Start!
Start! makes sticking to a walking plan easier than ever with FREE tools at http://www.startwalkingnow.org/, including:
Three customized walking programs (beginner, intermediate and advanced);
Online tracking tools to document calories consumed, steps taken and routes walked;
Sole-mates social networking capabilities to find and support like-minded walkers;
A grocery list builder and heart-healthy recipes; Downloadable seasonal walking guides with tips to maintain a routine regardless of weather; Start! walking videos, produced in collaboration with ExerciseTV, making an at-home workout easier with tips and motivation; Start! social media daily walking guide with daily walking guides, inspirational messages, heart-health tip of the day, video content from Exercise TV, community chat capability and a private journal.

Start! is sponsored nationally by SUBWAY® Restaurants, and locally by Aetna, Meijer and Schneider Electric. For more information, visit www.americanheart.org/startchicago.

About the American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, we’re the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases — America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers — we fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.

Keep PE in our Schools and AEDs in our Communities

Keep PE in our Schools and AEDs in our Communities

Illinois Senate Bill 618 threatens a number of top AHA priorities. First, it would lead to the elimination of physical education in our schools. Second, although many lives have been saved by automated electronic defibrillators in school buildings, the bill would jeopardize the placement of AEDs in our school athletic facilities.

Follow the link below to tell your Senator to vote NO on SB 618:
Keep PE in our Schools and AEDs in our Communities

SB 618 will allow school boards to ignore state laws if they aren't getting money to implement them. SB 618 calls these laws "unfunded mandates."

However nice that might sound to some, the bill's potential consequences -- intended or unintended -- would be dire.

Illinois cannot allow the elimination of physical education in a time when our country faces an unprecedented children's obesity epidemic. Maintaining and expanding access to lifesaving AEDs in some of the community's busiest public buildings should be a priority.

To make kids healthier and communities safer, please tell your state senator to vote "NO" on this legislation.

Keep PE in our Schools and AEDs in our Communities

Thank you for your help on this important health issue.

Statement from American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown

The U.S. House of Representatives took an historic and bold step forward to expand health care to millions of Americans to guarantee accessible, affordable, and high quality care. We all acknowledge that such a complex piece of legislation like the final health reform package isn’t perfect -- no package of similar magnitude has ever been perfect at the outset -- but this is the first step of a legacy building process that will transform American health care. This measure takes important steps forward by enacting needed insurance reforms, increasing affordability and reducing costs, emphasizing value over volume and placing a greater emphasis on prevention and wellness. For the American Heart Association (AHA), health care reform has always been about the needs of heart disease and stroke patients and we’re gratified that lawmakers didn’t lose sight of the concerns of those facing pre-existing medical conditions, lifetime and annual limits and other challenges with the health care system.

We now have health care reform that makes significant progress towards embracing the excellence of available health care in America while improving a health care delivery system that was untenable for too many Americans and unsustainable for all Americans.

We realize the current system cannot fully accommodate the current and growing burden of disease. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses are on the rise and will only worsen if attaining better health does not become a high priority. The AHA will continue to do its part and now with this legislation all Americans will have preventive benefits that help lower rates of obesity, hypertension, tobacco use and diabetes. First dollar coverage for evidence-based preventive services and appropriate treatments and medications that allow patients to lead productive lives after a heart attack or stroke will be key components in our efforts to reduce the burden of disease and extending prevention into communities, especially those of the underserved, will be invaluable.

This vote for health care reform represents a major milestone but not the end of the journey. We believe the work on health care reform is just beginning. The AHA remains committed to working with Congress, the Administration and our partners in the public and private sectors to further improve the health care system, to monitor and implement this legislation and to transform the current system into one that fulfills our American generational promise to make life better for future generations.