Learning Objective #1: Identify lifestyle changes made by women to improve heart health

Learning Objective #2: List strategies used to change lifestyles in women

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Every minute an American woman dies from cardiovascular disease. Although women tend to be more aware of personal health issues many don't seem to take their risk for heart disease seriously. Therefore, a Women's Heart Health Program in a major U.S. city in the Midwest was designed to: 1)increase women's awareness of their risk for heart disease and 2) educate them on how to decrease their risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Program. Population: The sample consisted of 97 women who self-referred to the Program. Method: Follow-up telephone calls were placed 3 months after attending the Program. Telephone calls were performed by a nurse practitioner using a standardized survey. This tool included overall evalutaion of the program, evaluation of written and verbal information provided and lifestyle changes that were made as a result of participating in the Program. Results: Overall, women stated they were very satisfied with the Program with an average rating of 4.6 on a 5 point scale. At least one lifestyle change was made by 80% (n=77) of the participants. Some changes included increased exercise(n=51) and improved diet (n=48). Participants were very satisfied with the written and verbal information they received rating it as 4.5 and 4.7, respectively. Conclusions: A nurse practitioner led program is one option to help educate women about their risks for heart diesase and lifestyle modifications. A nurse practitioner led program may help to further identify risks such as elevated cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes.