Cincinnati - The Christ Hospital is offering a new service to help promote community health and raise awareness for heart disease. The program is called Heart Aware and it includes an online heart risk assessment and a potential FREE follow-up screening at The Christ Hospital

The first part of the program is an online heart risk assessment. Participants can confidentially take an online risk assessment to determine if they may be at high risk for heart disease. If they are at high risk, they are then eligible for a FREE follow-up screening at The Christ Hospital.

The online risk assessment also offers healthy opportunities for those not at high risk. They can currently request more information on healthy diets, exercise, heart health and smoking cessation. Everyone is invited to take the online quiz at www.ChristHospitalCincinnati.com/heartaware. For those who do not have a computer, a paper form on the risk assessment can be obtained by calling 513-585-RISK. The Christ Hospital is also hosting two sessions for those without a computer to take the online risk assessment by means of laptop stations at Panera Bread. On Oct. 3, Christ Hospital representatives will be at the Kenwood Pavilion Panera Bread from 9-11 a.m. On Oct. 4, the session will be at the Hyde Park Panera Bread from 9 -11 a.m. Those who take the risk assessment during these times will receive a free coupon for coffee and a whole wheat bagel.

"We are taking responsibility as Greater Cincinnati's heart hospital and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to prevent or have their heart needs appropriately treated," said Dean Kereiakes, M.D., F.A.C.C., Medical Director of The Heart Center of Greater Cincinnati at The Christ Hospital. "By encouraging people to evaluate their heart health, we hope to increase awareness and wellness in our community and to decrease the occurrence of this debilitating disease."

According to the American Heart Association, in 2003 approximately 71,300,000 Americans have had one or more forms of cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is the leading cause of death in the United States.

In July 2006, The Christ Hospital was ranked 21 out of 5,189 for heart care and heart surgery hospitals in the country evaluated by U.S.News & World Report.

The Christ Hospital is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system that also includes The University Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital, Drake Center, West Chester Medical Center and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care. To view other Health Alliance news releases, go to www.health-alliance.com/pressroom .

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