Million Hearts e-Update: January/February 2014

Million Hearts e-Update: January/February 2014

The Science of Million Hearts^®

• The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology release new heart disease and stroke prevention guidelines. The guidelines include a much-anticipated update on cholesterol treatment as well as recommendations related to risk assessment, obesity, and lifestyle.
• Communities increase availability and accessibility of lower-sodium foods. A supplement to the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice documents how cities and counties across the nation developed strategies to lower sodium in ingredients and foods served in schools, worksites, grocery stores, and meal programs for seniors. For more information about the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program and the importance of reducing sodium to help prevent heart disease and stroke, visitwww.cdc.gov/salt.
• Excuse me, waiter—is that less sodium in my soup? Several cities and states are working with local and chain restaurants to lower sodium in restaurant foods. Successful approaches include assisting restaurants with nutrition analysis of menu items, training food service staff how to cook foods in more healthful ways, providing incentives when restaurants offer lower-sodium options, or offering opportunities to participate in a group-purchasing organization that can source and buy lower-sodium items not otherwise available.
• Panel members appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) recently reported their recommendations for management of high blood pressure in adults. A subset of the panel members appointed to the committee later elaborated on their disagreement with the full panel’s recommendation to increase the target systolic blood pressure in some people 60 and older. National guidelines will be released in the future by a group of professional societies as part of the process announced in 2013 by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (announcement andarticle).