The Pawtucket Heart Health Program

The Pawtucket Heart Health Program was a community-based project to modify risk factors for cardiovascular disease among residents of Pawtucket, RI. The program used strategies that rely on community volunteers to develop a framework to support health enhancement programs to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The program helped the community learn skills, build support systems, and develop strategies to encourage healthy behaviors.

Some of the program's interventions focused on weight control (Lighten Up), cholesterol monitoring (Know Your Cholesterol), and tobacco cessation (Quit and Win). Other interventions included grocery shelf labeling of low-fat foods, nutrition programs, restaurant menu health heart highlights, and the installation of a public exercise course.

The program was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

The goal of this program was to reduce risk factors which impact cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

During the seven-year program, over 3,600 people in the community volunteered over 200,000 hours to the program. The program was evaluated using a randomized controlled trial based on cross-sectional surveys every two years. Cholesterol, blood pressure, and smoking declined in both the control and intervention communities. Body mass index values stayed stable in the intervention community, but rose significantly in the control community. Projected cardiovascular disease rates were significantly less (20%) in Pawtucket than the control community at the peak of the intervention. At three years following the intervention this impact reduced to 8%.