Your Heart, Your Life: A Community Health Worker's Manual for the Hispanic Community

Manual Contents

• Your Heart, Your Life Manual Overview
• Introduction
• Session 1 – Are You at Risk for Heart Disease?
• Session 2 – Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs
• Session 3 – Take Heart: Say YES to Physical Activity
• Session 4 – Help Your Heart: Control Your High Blood Pressure
• Session 5 – Be Heart Smart: Keep Your Cholesterol in Check
• Session 6 – Keep Your Heart in Mind: Aim for a Healthy Weight
• Session 7 – Protect Your Heart: Take Good Care of Your Diabetes for Life
• Session 8 – Make Heart Healthy Eating a Family Affair
• Session 9 – Eat in a Heart Healthy Way – Even When Time or Money Is Tight
• Session 10 – Enjoy Living Smoke Free
• Session 11 – Review and Graduation
• Session 12 – Use Evaluation To Track Your Progress (Especially for Promotores)
• Appendix – Activities for Training Community Health Workers
• For More Information

Dear Community Health Worker Letter

Dear Community Health Worker:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the #1 killer of all Americans, including Latinos. Sadly, nearly one out of four Latinos dies of heart disease. High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, and diabetes are all factors that increase a person's risk of CVD. The good news is that people can lower their risk by making some lifestyle changes, and community health workers (promotores de salud) like you can help. The “Your Heart, Your Life” manual can guide you as you begin this journey.

“Your Heart, Your Life” is a heart health manual created especially for Latino communities by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The manual is taught by community health workers and focuses on helping people build skills to make practical, lasting changes to help fight heart disease and to improve their health.

The “Your Heart, Your Life” manual provides all the information you need to put this heart health project into action in your community. This manual can be used to train community health workers as well as to educate members of the Latino community, or it can serve as the basis for other community activities.

“Your Heart, Your Life” is dedicated to community health workers like you who devote time and energy to help others improve their health and live longer. Thank you for making a difference.

Much success,

Robinson Fulwood, Ph.D., M.S.P.H.
Chief
Enhanced Dissemination and Utilization Branch
Division for the Application of Research Discoveries
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

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You Are Unique in This World

Dedicated to Community Health Workers

Almost prancing, joyful and dancing
You walk our streets observing, yearning to know, eager to share.
Dreaming to see in the light of the dawn, your dream come true:
Our world better off.
You are unique in this world, and you don't even know it.

To the neighborhood and family you surrender your heart.
No one at all is beyond the reach of your hands.
With heartfelt voice proclaiming, you offer hope, courage, and health.
You are unique in this world, and you don't even know it.

Heart health is the key, and you now know it well.
“Let's better your health!” is your battle cry.
You are our hero, our neighborhood inspiration.
You are unique in this world, and you don't even know it.

You know how hard it is to change your ways.
The way we used to sit around. The use of too much salt and lard.
Those now belong to days gone by.
You are our leader, your family and neighborhood salute you.
You are unique in this world, and you don't even know it.

You are a great listener.
You are the one who knows how we feel and understands our pain.
You are the one who has courage to challenge for change in our world.
Today is the day! I'm telling you now!
You are unique in this world, and I want you to know it.

Poem written by Gloria Ortiz, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
English translation by Ariela C. Rodriguez, Ph.D., A.C.S.W.

Go to the Introduction

Information on this page is taken from the English print version of “Your Heart, Your Life, A Community Health Worker's Manual.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, NIH Publication No. 08-3674, Originally Printed 1999, Revised May 2008.

Last Updated March 2012