International Council on Active Aging
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Press release
Older Adults Will Discover Heart Health Is a Matter of Choice
ICAA enables professionals to send the message that healthy lifestyles are critical for healthy hearts
(Vancouver, January 31, 2008) February offers wellness professionals the perfect opportunity to launch a year’s worth of education to help prevent the leading cause of death throughout the world: cardiovascular heart disease (World Health Organization, 2007). While older adults are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (National Institute on Aging), they are also able to dramatically lower that risk with a healthy lifestyle.
“February is Heart Month in the United States and Canada,” points out Colin Milner, CEO of International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), an association that supports professionals who develop wellness and fitness facilities and services for age 50-plus adults. “Professionals can take advantage of the media focus on Heart Month to deliver their own educational programs. What better time than Valentine’s Day to encourage heart health?”
Preventing cardiovascular diseases that are more likely as people age (including coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, heart failure and peripheral arterial disease) is often a matter of lifestyle choices: regular exercise, healthy diet, healthy weight, not smoking, keeping blood pressure and cholesterol at normal levels, and controlling diabetes.
“Older adults can’t control their age or a family history of heart disease, but the rest of these risk factors can be managed,” explains Milner. “And, even if a person does have heart disease, these same lifestyle choices are what physicians recommend for regaining their health.”
Another controllable factor is the response to a person who has sudden cardiac arrest, an electrical malfunction of the heart that disrupts the heart’s normal rhythm. If untreated, sudden cardiac arrest can result in death within minutes. In the US, 900 people die every day due to sudden cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association.
A bystander who quickly responds can double the person’s chance of survival (American Heart Association). A quick response means calling 911 for emergency medical services, immediately delivering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), applying defibrillation, and then stepping aside for emergency medical personnel to take over.
To deliver the tools professionals need to educate older adults about heart health, ICAA has partnered with Philips Healthcare, provider of HeartStart Defibrillators (www.philips.com/heartstart), which are used to provide treatment for sudden cardiac arrest.
The tools for heart-healthy messages are available in the ICAA/Philips Heart Month support package, which is available for free on the ICAA Heart Month web site at www.icaa.cc/heartmonth.htm.
The ICAA/Philips Heart Month support package includes a free downloadable poster and links to resources for planning and executing a campaign to reach elders, including lifestyle messages, consumer education materials and lesson plans.
Of special note are the promotional resources for a Valentine's Day campaign, including postcards, posters and invitations to encourage people to become more physically active. The materials are available as a free download.
“Heart disease is a particular concern as we age,” explains Milner. “The good news is you can lower the risks of heart disease at any age. And you can find plenty of support for lifestyle changes at seniors centers, retirement communities, fitness and wellness centers.”
While on the ICAA web site, visit the Age-Friendly Facility Locator, which provides a listing of organizations that have met requirements showing their commitment to providing services to older adults. Find the locator at www.icaa.cc/facilitylocator.htm.
February is an excellent time to promote heart health because of the publicity generated by Heart Month. However, ICAA encourages its association members and all professionals serving older adults to keep those messages flowing through the upcoming months. The lifestyle choices that lead to a healthy life enable people to enjoy an active, engaged life throughout the year.
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About the International Council on Active Aging
The ICAA is the world's largest membership association dedicated to changing the way we age by uniting and working with professionals in the retirement, assisted living, recreation, fitness, rehabilitation and wellness fields. We connect a community of like-minded professionals who share the goals of changing society's perceptions of aging and improving the quality of life for Baby Boomers and older adults within the six dimensions of wellness (emotional, vocational, physical, spiritual, intellectual, social).
For interviews or more information about the ICAA and aging-related issues, contact:
Colin Milner, CEO
International Council on Active Aging
Toll-free: 1-866-335-9777 (North America only)
Telephone: 604-734-4466
Cell: 604-763-4595
Email: colinmilner@icaa.cc
