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Categories:
Heart Disease
Medical Information
Prescription Medicine
Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Healthy Eating
Fitness and Wellness
Stop Smoking
Alcohol Abuse
Mental Health
Advocacy
Heart Disease
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHBLI) of the federal National Institutes of Health - sponsors "The Heart Truth" campaign, which features the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease. Call 301-592-8573 to order copies of campaign materials (available in English and Spanish). View materials online (PDF).
American Heart Association - funds heart disease medical research studies and offers comprehensive information about various heart conditions and treatments. Sponsors a public awareness campaign for women about heart disease prevention, "Go Red For Women." Call toll-free 888-MY-HEART to purchase the campaign's educational materials.
HeartCenterOnline - click on the Patients icon to read information and news about heart disease, risk factors, treatments, and patients' stories. You can also sign up for their free weekly E-mail newsletter devoted to heart disease and treatments.
Mended Hearts - affiliated with the American Heart Association, this national network of support groups is for people recovering from heart bypass surgery and other procedures.
Heartmates - an organization offering online support to spouses and family members of people with heart disease. It's geared more for wives of men with heart disease but still offers good advice, videos on recovery, and a helpful book, Heartmates: A Guide for the Spouse and Family of the Heart Patient.
Heart Information Network - offers comprehensive information on heart disease. Especially helpful are its Q&A Library and Glossary, which explains medical jargon.
Heart Point - offers a Gallery of animated illustrations of various heart conditions. Cool!
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- (AHRQ) publishes a series of comprehensive Clinical Practice Guidelines on heart disease (and other medical conditions) by panels of leading medical experts. These reports describe the best current knowledge and treatment guidelines for doctors and health care professionals to follow. (They are good reference guides especially if you think you may not be getting the best medical care available.) Less technical Patient and Family Guides are also available for each of the following reports:
- Heart Failure: Patients with Left-Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction
- Unstable Angina: Diagnosis and Management
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
You may download these documents from the AHRQ's Web site or order them for free by calling toll free 800-358-9295.
Heart Related Organizations
Other Medical Conditions and Diseases
Many of you are suffering from heart disease as well as other medical conditions. Here are some Web sites and toll-free numbers for you to obtain helpful information:
Alcoholics Anonymous (877-833-8738)
American Cancer Society (800-ACS-2345)
American Diabetes Association (800-DIABETES)
American Lung Association (800-LUNG-USA)
American Obesity Association (800-98-OBESE)
Arthritis Foundation (800-283-7800)
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (800-727-8462)
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (800-826-3632)
Epilepsy Foundation of America (800-332-1000)
National Breast Cancer Coalition (800-622-2838)
National Mental Health Association (800-969-6642)
National Multiple Sclerosis Society (800-FIGHT-MS)
National Osteoporosis Foundation (toll call: 202-223-2226)
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Medical Information
Society for Women's Health Research - the nation's only not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to improve the health of women through research. It advocates increased funding for research on women's health, encourages the study of sex differences that may affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, and promotes the inclusion of women in medical research studies.
InteliHealth - the Johns Hopkins Medical Center offers a free daily E-mail subscriber newsletter, InteliHealthConnect, as well as Heart Health a weekly E-mail newsletter that is devoted to news about heart disease and its treatments. Also offers in-depth information about heart disease and other medical conditions, and an Ask the Doc feature allows you to pose a question to a physician.
MedLine - the National Library of Medicine's database of more than nine million abstracts of medical journal articles. MedLine allows you to search PubMed for medical-based abstracts and articles about women and heart disease once a search is done for Women and Heart Disease. Also check out MEDLINEplus which offers consumer-oriented health information about women and heart disease.
Dr. Koop's Community - Offers consumer- friendly information and a Virtual Pharmacy that can help you evaluate the risk of harmful interactions among prescription medicines.
National Women's Health Information Center - the federal government's main information site about women's health issues.
MedTech1.com - The Complete Source for Medical Technology Information - containing health news and features on medical devices, comprehensive information on medical conditions and diseases, treatment options, diagnostic tools, patient stories, a section on living with medical devices along with a Q&A forum.
The National Women's Health Resource Center - a national clearinghouse of women's health issues.
The Women's Health Site - A Service of the Duke Academic Program in Women's Health. The Women's Health Site offers free news and continuing education activities for physicians and other health professionals.
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Prescription Medicine
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - the federal FDA's Office of Women's Health is sponsoring a national campaign called "Take Time to Care" that aims to educate women about the safe use of medicine. It free brochure, "My Medicines," can be viewed online or ordered (in English, Spanish, and several other languages) by calling toll free 1-888-8-PUEBLO.
Rx List - offers information on the 200 most-prescribed prescription medicines and describes their side effects, clinical studies, and dosage information. Also describes which health insurance companies carry these medicines on their lists of preferred medicines (called "formularies").
Center Watch - lists over 7,000 clinical trials that are testing new prescription medicines and treatments. Nearly all the trials are recruiting patients and often pay them for participating; you can even enroll in many of the clinical trials by E-mail.
The leading new online pharmacies through which you can fill new and refill prescription medicines are listed below. Most feature a pharmacist on duty 24 hours a day. If harmful interactions among your prescription medicines might occur, a pharmacist will contact you.
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Alternative and Complementary Healing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - the federal agency that funds research into and issues reports on safety/effectiveness of alternative and complementary medicines and therapies.
Vitacost - offers the most complete online health store offering over 6,000 vitamins, herbal remedies, health products and 10,000 pages of natural health articles and information. Check out women's health section.
Dr. Andrew Weil - best-selling physician/author offers searchable database for vitamins and herbal alternative remedies.
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Healthy Eating
American Dietetic Association - provides information and recipes for well-balanced and healthy meals.
Choose to Lose - Choose to Lose offers great programs and award-winning books for low-fat, low cholesterol meal planning and cooking:
Choose to Lose: A Food Lover's Guide to Permanent Weight Loss
and
Eater's Choice: A Food Lover's Guide to Lower Cholesterol
Monthly magazines - sites that provide valuable health information and low-fat recipes.
Weight Watchers - commercial weight loss program. Click on the Meetings icon, and you can locate the meetings held nearest you. You can also subscribe to its monthly magazine.
eDiets & CyberDiet - commercial online weight loss programs individualized to your needs.
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Fitness and Wellness
Shape Up America! - consumer friendly site that offers helpful tips and programs for managing your weight and healthy eating. Offers a CyberKitchen through which you can plan healthy meals and a Fitness Center to help you get more physically active.
Take Pounds Off Sensibly (T.O.P.S.) - there are over 11,000 non-profit TOPS weight loss support groups across the country, some of which feature walking programs. To locate a group near you, check the Chapter Locator icon on its Web site or call toll-free 800-932-8677. Also, since each TOPS group responds to the age and scheduling needs of its members, ask for the phone number of your regional Coordinator. Call her to find a group that reflects your age, needs, and location.
50-Plus Fitness Association - California-based international organization offers information about fitness and sponsors fitness events in local communities.
Spa Finders - (toll free telephone 800-255-7727) a reservation and information source for 220 represented fitness and therapeutic spas.
Just Move - The American Heart Association sponsors two programs to increase your physical activity. Choose to Move, designed especially for women, is a 12-week program that uses helpful behavior change strategies to help you make physical activity a natural part of your life. Call toll free 800-MY-HEART to order a FREE copy of the Choose to Move Handbook. AHA also sponsors an online program Just Move that features an Exercise Diary and a Guide to fitness events all across the country.
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Stop Smoking
American Cancer Society (800-227-2345) and
American Lung Association (800 586-4872) - local chapters offer smoking cessation programs.
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Alcohol Abuse
Alcoholics Anonymous - offers free daily meetings for people in recovery, some meetings for women only; emphasizes spiritual healing and religious faith.
Rational Recovery - offers programs for people in recovery; emphasizes personal responsibility rather than spiritual healing.
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - can identify treatment centers near you.
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Mental Health
National Mental Health Association - provides information on many mental health conditions and illnesses, including clinical depression; 330 affiliates can refer you to local mental health services.
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance - a patient-run national mental health organization that sponsors support groups (click "Chapter Directory") across the country and offers a comprehensive publications catalog (click "Bookstore Catalog").
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy - locate a licensed marriage and family therapist near you though its Find A Therapist icon. These therapists provide therapy for individuals, couples, and families.
American Association of Pastoral Counselors - locate a certified pastoral counselor near you through its Locate a Pastoral Counselor icon. These certified clergy therapists combine spiritual and religious resources with psychotherapy.
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Advocacy
Call your local chapter of the American Heart Association if you want to work on statewide public policy issues and legislation.
For federal policy issues and legislation:
U.S. Senate - find your Senators- Web sites; send them E-mail messages.
U.S. House of Representatives - find your Representative's Web site; send him/her E-mail messages.
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