Center for Workforce Health

Our Programs

Heart Healthy

Overview

Morbidity data on coronary attacks, chest pains, and other cardiac diseases indicate that one in every three adults have some form of cardiovascular disease. Yet cardiac disease is a chronic condition that can be prevented and managed by adherence to medical regimes and the reduction of risk factors. The online Heart Healthy program is designed to help working adults with at least one risk factor reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Approach

Heart Healthy is an interactive multimedia program comprising five main modules, beginning with information about heart disease and a personal assessment of cardiovascular risk. The results of the personal risk assessment are used to direct users to the segments that are most relevant to their risks. The other four modules address health practices that are central to reducing cardiovascular risk and include:

• Diet and Nutrition addressing general principles of weight management and good nutrition as well as medical facts on cholesterol and hypertension;
• Getting Active containing cardiac-specific information on the benefits of exercise and practical guidance on how to begin, increase or maintain one’s level of fitness;
• Stress and Cardiovascular Disease addressing how stress and mood states such as depression and anxiety affect cardiac health, and provides skills for coping with stress; and
• Tobacco Free, which focuses on tobacco cessation techniques and information on the impact of smoking on cardiovascular health. 

Evidence

The randomized trial conducted at Ohio Valley Hospital found significant positive effects on several outcomes associated with a reduction in cardiovascular risk, including measures of diet, nutrition, exercise and stress. See Outcome Studies for information on the article published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.