WHAT:

Nearly 300 community stakeholders, politicians and educators on stroke and hypertension in African-Americans are expected to attend the Stroke Awareness Dinner, the kickoff event for Search Your Heart, a newly enhanced program aimed at reducing stroke, hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol-related health problems in Jefferson County. Congregations for Public Health, Inc. and the Magic City Stoke Prevention Project, programs supported in part by UAB’s School of Public Health, will host the dinner, sponsored by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Fredrick G. Ransom, UAB professor of medicine with the Division of General Internal Medicine, will be the speaker.

WHEN:

Friday, May 13, 2005
6 to 8 p.m.

WHERE:

Bethel Berney Points Baptist Church
1637 Pearson Avenue
Birmingham, AL

MORE:

African-Americans have a 33 percent greater incidence of stroke than the overall population. Developing healthy lifestyles, through education and behavior modification, are key to reducing stroke rates. Search Your Heart focuses on modifying exercise and nutrition and removing barriers to healthy lifestyles, such as lack of affordable fruits and vegetables and feasible exercise programs.

Congregations for Public Health, Inc. is a community-based non-profit group representing six congregations of different denominations. It is supported by the UAB School of Public Health and the Jefferson County Health Department. Its purpose is to serve as a channel of communication for health information, education, screening, referral, and one-on-one interventions to reduce risk factors associated with stroke and, in turn, to support stroke prevention. For more information, contact Executive Director Mike Bramlett, J.D., at (205) 975-8386.