Integrating cardiovascular health education with an English curriculum in a secondary school.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact on cognitive and attitude retention of a cardiovascular (CV) health education unit that was integrated within high school English classes. The integrated program was an extension of previous research on the Cardiovascular School Health Curriculum that was developed by the National Heart and Blood Vessel Research and Demonstration Center, Baylor College of Medicine. The results of this study supported the hypotheses that CV health education can be successfully integrated within the English curriculum of secondary schools. This joint effort between health education and a liberal art assisted students in retaining important facts related to CV disease and in maintaining more positive attitudes toward their abilities to control their CV risks.