Sponsored by MetLife Foundation

Heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death among Hispanics and Americans in general. The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that heart disease claims the lives of about 30% of the more than 117,000 Hispanics who die each year. Hispanics possess insufficient knowledge on how to protect their heart health and especially the relationship between lifestyle and risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, lack of physical activity, obesity, and diabetes. For instance, according to AHA, Hispanics are more likely to have high blood cholesterol and less likely to engage in physical activity than non-Hispanics.

In response to this, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) continues reaching out to the Hispanic community with the Salud para su Corazón-NCLR project (Health for Your Heart – NCLR), which aims to reduce the incidence, burden, and impact of heart health problems among Hispanics. The Salud para su Corazón – NCLR project is a unique outreach model of multilevel strategies, which provides heart health education to Latinos. The project relies on promotores de salud (lay health educators) who disseminate educational and prevention awareness materials within the Hispanic community.

• Develop culturally- and linguistically-appropriate materials to assist promotores de salud in their training sessions with local community members.
• Facilitate partnerships among community-based organizations, promotores de salud programs, and Latino communities to foster positive outcomes for Hispanics.
• Establish culturally- and linguistically-appropriate outreach efforts to educate the Hispanic community about active steps that can be taken to reduce risks of heart disease and improve awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about heart health.

For six years Salud para su Corazón – NCLR has been sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Foundation and has been implemented through community-based organizations with promotores de salud, in many cities throughout the country. These cities include: Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; El Paso, Texas; Española, New Mexico; Miami, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Providence, Rhode Island; Silver Spring, Maryland; Stockton, California; and Washington, DC.

With continued funding, it is NCLR’s goal to continue delivering heart health education to improve the health of Latinos.