(NAPSA)—Here’s heartening news: learning about treating heart failure is getting easier. Heart failure is a condition where the heart is no longer able to pump adequate amounts of blood throughout the body. Heart failure is often a chronic condition that can be treated with medicines, diet and other lifestyle changes, and in some cases, surgery. More than 4.7 million Ameri- cans are living with congestive heart failure and about 80 percent of men and 70 percent of women under age 65 with heart failure will die prematurely. Until now, learning about the best treatments for heart failure could be a complicated and frustrating prospect. That’s why the American Heart Association launched a new onlinetool called Heart Profilers heart failure module. It provides free, personalized information on heart conditions based on the latest clinical research. People who sign up on thesite get specific information and treatment options based on their own medical profile. The Heart Profiler also helps people develop questions to ask their doctor. All information is easy to understand and contains definitions for medical terms. In addition, the Heart Profilers can connect interested pa- tients to nearby clinical trials. All data is kept private and accessible (el 7 < We . ‘ A new Website can help peo- ple with heart failure understand the condition and howtotreatit. only by the user. “Being told by a doctor that you have heart failure can be devastating. People desire information, options and hope. With the Heart Profilers, the American Heart Association offers patients and their doctors easy-to-understand treatment options so they can make the right choice for each individual,” says Clyde Yancy, M.D., Associate Professor of Medi- cine/Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern, and Ameri- can Heart Association volunteer. Guidant Corporaton, a world leader in the treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, is a sponsor of the Heart Profiler tool. The Heart Profilers can be found by logging onto american heart.org and clicking on the Heart Profilers icon (or american heart.org/heartprofilers). For more information about heart failure, call 1-800-AHA-USAI1.
