Our mission is to prevent premature deaths and disabilities due to heart disease and stroke in North Carolina.   
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Start With Your Heart

Call 911, if you suspect some is having a heart attack.

Call 911!

Call 911!If you or someone you are with has chest discomfort, especially with one or more of the warning signs, call 911 right away. Don't wait more than five minutes before calling for help. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can begin treatment when they arrive. The staff is also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance usually receive faster treatment at the hospital.

If you can't access the EMS by calling 911, have someone drive you to the hospital right away. If you're the one having symptoms, don't drive yourself, unless you have no other option.

 

Start CPR

Start CPRIf you are certified in CPR you can help start someone’s heart if the victim stops breathing or is suffering a heart attack. CPR stands for "Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation." CPR involves a combination of mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing (or other artificial ventilation techniques) and chest compressions. It helps to buy time by keeping blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs until normal heart function is restored to the victim. The local American Heart Association or American Red Cross offers free classes where you can train and certify in this life-saving technique.

 

Use DefibrillatorsDefibrillators

If you are in a public place, seek out an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator). More and more malls, restaurants, hotels, schools, and offices have these life saving machines. If one is available, follow the simple directions on the machine.

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Start With Your Heart

Stroke Warning Signs

Knowing the signs of stroke could save someone you love.

WALKING—Is your balance off? WALKING—Is your balance off?

TALKING—Is your speech slurred or face droopy? TALKING—Is your speech slurred or face droopy?

FEELING—Is your headache severe? FEELING—Is your headache severe?

SEEING—Do things look blurred?

When it comes to stroke, act fast! Call 911. Doctors can do more for your recovery if you get to the hospital within three hours.

Based on information from H.O.P.E. for Stroke and the Stroke Awareness Foundation. 

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State-wide Events State-wide Events
9/23/2010 Asheville, NC
4th Biennial Stroke Conference
10/27/2010 Greenville, NC
16th Annual Eastern Regional Cardiovascular Conference 2010
More Events More Events

HDSP Program

The North Carolina HDSP Program
In 1998, North Carolina was awarded funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement a state-based cardiovascular health program, now called the North Carolina Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program (N.C. HDSP Program). In 2002, the CDC awarded North Carolina continuation funding for this program through 2007.

The N.C. HDSP Program focuses on systems-level change to create communities, work places, schools, and health care systems that are supportive of cardiovascular health promotion and cardiovascular disease prevention.

Because of the complexity and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, it takes multiple programs working together to make a difference. The N.C. HDSP Program seeks to work with multiple partner organizations - both public and private - in settings across the state to address physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, tobacco use, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and overweight/obesity, as well as emergency response and acute health care systems for heart attack and stroke.

  • Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force – charged with overseeing the implementation of the CDC-funded HDSP Program and the strategies in the North Carolina Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke.
  • CVH Data Unit – established by the Task Force to address the need for reliable data to answer questions raised by the work of the Task Force, including the incidence of cardiovascular disease and related risk factors in North Carolina.
  • Start With Your Heart – Public Awareness Campaign to deliver simple messages to begin to motivate North Carolinians to improve their health behaviors and know their numbers for blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as the warning signs of heart attack and stroke.
  • Strike Out Stroke – Program targeting high risk populations to improve hypertension awareness and control and recognition of the warning signs of stroke.
  • N.C. Cardiovascular Health Program – North Carolina was one of the first two states in the nation to receive comprehensive ($1.25 million per year) funding from the CDC in 1998 for a program to change policies and environments to create communities supportive of heart health.
  • Tri-State Stroke Network – The eastern counties of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia are known as the “buckle” of the Stroke Belt. A Summit in 1999 drew attention to this geographic disparity and resulted in the establishment and funding of a Tri-State Stroke Network, coordinated by the N.C. HDSP Program.
  • North Carolina Acute Stroke Registry – In 2004, North Carolina was one of four states funded by the CDC to implement an Acute Stroke Registry. The purpose of the Registry is to monitor and improve the quality of Acute Stroke Care.
  • N.C. Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch (TPCB) – The branch works to improve the health of North Carolina residents by building the capacity of diverse organizations and communities to carry out effective programs. The HDSP Task Force works with TPCB to reduce exposure to tobacco in North Carolina and to achieve the following goals.
    • Prevent youth tobacco use and access to tobacco.
    • Promote and support quitting among tobacco users.
    • Promote smoke free environments.
    • Reduce disparities by improving the health-related norms of populations
    • more adversely affected by tobacco use.

If you'd like more information about the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force or any of the topics or issues mentioned on this site,

Call:
(919) 707-5360

Write:
Start With Your Heart
HDSP Branch, Division of Public Health
1915 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1915

 
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Public Health NC Department of Health and Human Services North Carolina Public Health

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last updated: 8/19/2010