Some exercise is better than none.

Some exercise is better than none. More exercise is even better to reduce heart disease risk! As little as 2.5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity per week can lower the overall risk of heart disease by 14 percent! http://bit.ly/pdSbvv

Physical Activity Levels of High School Students

Physical Activity Levels of High School Students - United States, 2010

MMWR has released a new study on the physical activity levels of American high school students compared to HP2020 objectives. Highlights include:

Nationwide, 15.3% of high school students met the HP 2020 objective for aerobic activity.
A higher percentage of male (21.9%) compared with female (8.4%) students; 9th-grade (18.5%) compared with 10th-grade (15.3%), 11th-grade (13.3%), and 12th-grade (13.1%) students; white (16.9%) compared with Hispanic (11.8%) students; and under/normal weight (16.3%) and overweight (16.5%) students compared with those with obesity (10.7%) met the aerobic objective.
51.0% of high school students met the HP 2020 objective for muscle-strengthening activity.
12.2% of high school students met the HP 2020 objective for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.

Please click here to read the full report.

Prevention Works!

Deaths from cardiovascular diseases have fallen. However, it’s still the leading killer in the U.S. and medical costs are projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030. The American Heart Association’s recent policy statement explains what can be done to save more lives and dollars. http://bit.ly/nnZkBP

2011 Legislature Adjourns

On Saturday, June 18, the NC General Assembly adjourned the lNC egislative session with a provision that will bring lawmakers back to Raleigh for a special session on redistricting on July 13. A big thank you is extended to all of our You're the Cure advocates for your support and responses to our action alerts throughout the session.

Thanks to your advocacy efforts, we have made progress on several of our issues.We are pleased that SB 240/HB 443 Justus Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force Recommendations for the Stroke Advisory Council and Stroke Community Education were fully funded in the biennium budget ($900,000). In addition, we have several issues that saw positive legislative action and will be eligible for consideration in the 2012 short session.

These bills have all passed the House of Representatives and are currently in the Senate:

• HB 218/SB 242: Childhood Obesity Task Force


• HB 334: Fitness Testing Reporting


• HB 503: Nutrition Standards/All Foods Sold in Schools


• HB 837: CPR Instruction Completion by Students Required


• HB 914: AEDs State Buildings

We extend our sincere thanks to You're the Cure NC - you are making a difference and moving the AHA's mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke forward.

Get Your Social Media On!

Check out the information below about how you can spread the word about new tobacco regulations that began last week.

CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are working to educate consumers, public health partners, and the general public about new tobacco regulations that took effect July 22, 2010. These regulations prohibit the tobacco industry from distributing or introducing into the U.S. market any tobacco products for which the labeling or advertising contains the descriptors “light,” “low,” “mild,” or any similar descriptor, irrespective of the date of manufacture. However, consumers may continue to see some products with these descriptors for sale in stores after July 22 because retailers are permitted to sell off their inventory.

OSH and FDA are seeking your support to help get the word out about these new, historic FDA tobacco regulations. You can support this effort by

o Posting the new “Light/Low/Mild: No such thing” graphical button on your Web site. When clicked, this button will take visitors to new consumer-focused information entitled “No More “Light,” “Low,” or “Mild” Cigarettes.” This information provides a summary of the July 22 regulations, the public health impact, and links to key resources, including a new, expanded feature article by the same title posted on CDC’s Web site.

o Encouraging others to send Health-e-Cards emphasizing the value of being tobacco-free. See the new animated Health-e-Card that reiterates there’s no such thing as a safe cigarette.

o Informing others of a new widget located on FDA’s Tobacco Products Web site. A widget is an application that enables users to embed content from another Web site onto their Web site. As content gets updated on the source site, it’s automatically updated on the user’s site. This particular widget enables readers to embed regulation information from FDA’s Tobacco Products Web site, health information from OSH’s Smoking & Tobacco Web site, and quit information from NCI’s smokefree.gov Web site.

o Following CDCTobaccoFree on Twitter and retweeting new messages related to the July 22 FDA tobacco regulations.

o Becoming a fan of CDC’s Facebook page and posting new “Light/Low/Mild: No such thing” status updates on your Facebook profiles.

o Telling others about our new posting on CDC’s Everyday Health Widget (coming soon).

o Viewing OSH’s new entry on CDC’s MySpace page.

o Following OSH on GovLoop. GovLoop is a social networking site for the government community. It currently serves about 30,000 members, including local, state, and federal government employees and contractors. Academics and students interested in government are also welcome to join.

o Subscribing to CDC’s Smoking and Tobacco Use main feed to receive updates of new and recently changed content from CDC’s Smoking & Tobacco Use Web site on your browser or desktop.

Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone at anytime. That’s why a public trained in CPR and timely access to AEDs is critical. Urge Congress to support the Rural and Community AED Program today. It's easy, simply click on this link and follow the prompts: http://www.capitolconnect.com/yourethecure/fastaction.aspx?AlertID=17461

NC State Lobby Day a Success!

On June 2nd, 30 You’re the Cure advocates in North Carolina descended upon the General Assembly in Raleigh to share an important message to their legislators- investing in measures to improve the health of our citizens will save the state money and insure a healthier North Carolina.

Advocates came from far across North Carolina to attend You’re the Cure at the Capitol State Lobby Day. The event kicked off on June 1st, with an afternoon training at the American Heart Association headquarters in North Carolina. Advocates heard from state experts on the topics they would be discussing with their legislators the next day. Peg O’Connell, director of the NC Alliance for Health Tobacco Committee, spoke on the importance of investing in an educational campaign to address stroke disparities in Eastern North Carolina. Stroke is currently the 4th leading cause of death in North Carolina and for the first time since 2000, the number of stroke deaths increased in North Carolina between 2007 and 2008. Since 2008, North Carolina has run a media campaign that has shown statistically significant results in raising awareness about how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a stroke and get a patient immediate care. Advocates used this information to ask the state legislature to continue to fund this incredibly important campaign
In addition, advocates spoke out about the need to test children’s fitness in schools, and provide healthy foods in cafeterias.

The day of the event, the Heart Association also sponsored a press conference at the General Assembly that honored “Heartsavers”. Heartsavers are ordinary citizens who performed CPR in a time of need and helped save a life.

Thanks to all our volunteers in NC for all their hard work!