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Links
NIH, NHLBI and The Heart Truth
 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of the world's foremost medical research centers, and the Federal focal point for medical research in the United States. The NIH, comprising 27 separate Institutes and Centers, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NHLBI, an Institute at NIH, provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders.
The Institute plans, conducts, fosters, and supports an integrated and coordinated program of basic research, clinical investigations and trials, observational studies, and demonstration and education projects. Research is related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The NHLBI plans and directs research in development and evaluation of interventions and devices related to prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients suffering from such diseases and disorders. Research is conducted in the Institute's own laboratories and by scientific institutions and individuals supported by research grants and contracts.
In 2001, the Federal Government stepped up its leadership role on the issue of women and heart disease by gathering more than 70 experts in women's health to create the framework for a national action plan to reduce the toll of heart disease on American women. The result: a national awareness campaign, The Heart Truth, launched in 2002 to warn women of their #1 health threat, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The Heart Truth campaign warns women about heart disease and provides tools to help them take action against its risk factors. It is primarily targeted to women ages 40 to 60, the time when a woman's risk of heart disease begins to increase. However, it's never too early-or too late-to take action to prevent and control the risk factors since heart disease develops over time and can start at a young age-even in the teen years. Its message is paired with an arresting visual-the Red Dress-as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness.
Since the campaign's launch in 2002, The Heart Truth and its partners have sparked a national movement to alert women about the dangers of heart disease. Community organizations, corporate businesses, local and national media, and women across the country have embraced the issue and rallied around the Red Dress symbol.
As The Heart Truth campaign developed, the need for an attention-getting reminder to connect women with heart disease became clear. In February 2003, The Heart Truth introduced the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness and debuted the Red Dress Collection at New York's Fashion Week, bringing the issue of women and heart disease to the national spotlight.
The Red Dress symbol links a woman's focus on her “outer self” to the need to also focus on her “inner self,” especially her heart health. The Red Dress works as a visual red alert to convey the message that “Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear-It's the #1 Killer of Women.”
LINKS
National Institutes of Health
http://www.nih.gov
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
The Heart Truth
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/index.htm
National Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition
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