“Act Fast: The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” nonprofit group says

A new public awareness campaign in North Carolina is urging residents to learn the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, and more importantly, to act fast by calling 911.

This message is part of a broad campaign by The Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force and the North Carolina Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention (HDSP) Program.

While stroke victims can be helped by modern treatment options, such as clot-busting drugs that open up blocked blood vessels, they must be started as soon as possible. And that means quick treatment is essential.

“Call 911 or your emergency response number right away,” Anita Holmes, JD, MPH, HDSP branch head and executive director of the Task Force said in a press release this week. “It’s almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Heart attack and stroke are life-and-death emergencies—every second counts.”

Studies show that cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart disease and stroke, kills nearly 2,300 Americans each day—an average of one death every 38 seconds. According to the American Heart Association, it’s the number one cause of death in the United States. In North Carolina, CVD causes about 31 percent of all deaths every year, according to “The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in North Carolina—July 2010 Update.” Heart disease and stroke are the second and third leading causes of death for men and women in the state.

“Heart disease and stroke are two of the largest threats to the health and wellness of North Carolinians and account for the greatest portion of health care costs to the state,” Ms. Holmes said. “But these conditions are largely preventable. It is our job to raise awareness, particularly high risk population groups (or areas of the state), of the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke and the importance of calling 911.”

A strong focus on lifestyle changes to manage blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and eliminate a high sodium diet has been a multi-pronged strategy in the Start With Your Heart campaign to improve the prevention and management of risk factors for CVD. The Task Force, working alongside the HDSP Program, has focused on public awareness and education activities such as television advertisements, news releases, Internet-based promotions, and print materials.

A key effort by the Task Force this year has been a push towards a broader Internet presence. In addition to developing a more functional and dynamic Start With Your Heart web site, the North Carolina Stroke Care Collaborative (NCSCC) web site has been redesigned to be more consumer-friendly. NCSCC is a quality improvement program that evaluates and facilitates improvements in stroke care by collecting real-time stroke data and providing feedback to participating hospitals. The initiative is a joint endeavor between the Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program of the North Carolina Division of Public Health and the Cardiovascular Disease Program in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, School of Public Health. North Carolina is one of six states funded by the CDC to implement an acute stroke registry.

The Task Force also is creating a new television commercial to promote understanding stroke signs and symptoms, calling 911, and getting help within three hours of the onset of a stroke. Studies show that receiving the necessary treatment within three hours may reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke, which is caused by blood clots in blood vessels of the brain. Script development was tested through five focus groups, relying heavily on consumer feedback and opinion to create the commercial. The 30-second spot will air in the Greenville and Wilmington television markets in May for National Stroke Awareness Month.

– Justus-Warren Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Task Force

by