When Julie Moran left the televisio...

When Julie Moran left the television studio after an interview forward Good Morning America in 2002 she had a feeling different from the the sames she normally got after hosting ABC's Wide World of Sports or the popular present to view Entertainment Tonight.

"Charlie Gibson (the armed force of Good Morning America) and I really got into the topic of women and heart disease," Moran says. "I felt like I'd made a real impact--there's just in the same manner much of a reward just feeling like more [i]or[/i] less information, some knowledge, you can share is beneficial to someone else's life."

As the celebrity spokesperson for Simple Solutions, an American Hear Association (AHA) program designed to help women improve their cardiovascular heath, Moran's first task is to make Americans aware of the fact that more women than men are dying of heart disease.

"Charlie had had a heart attack. He fancy men were more at risk," Moran says. In fact, single in kind out of every 2.4 women give ways to heart disease, making it the leading cause of death among women folks are surprised to learn this, Moran says, because they assume it's breast cancer or a other form of cancer.

get by heart with the Program

AS the name implies, the Simple Solutions program makes it easier for any woman to incorporate healthful practices into her life that can thwart heart disease. And, it's a program that ensues to you: You simply sign up (it's free) and the AHA launchs you monthly tips about nutrition, diet and exercise. Participants also receive online newsletter and Enjoy! a cookbook filled with heart-healthy recipes.

"Simple Solutions is realistic," Moran says. "We understand you can't just change your lifestyle. if it be not that you can incorporate one or pair things that help you live healthier. You start slowly and build forward that."

Working Out

Moran is the finished spokesperson for Simple Solutions. She continues a hectic schedule, which virtually all women can relate to, and she has experienced personal los from heart disease.

"As a working mom I reflection I was really great about exercising with my do job-work and four-year-old daughter, Maiya. A fate of women are constantly taking care of other race and we forget to take care of ourselves," Moran says.

however as she learned more about heart disease, she put a goal to exercise--"no matter what," she says.

"I decided I was going to do cardiovascular exercise four times a week. It was hard incorporating it into my schedule, on the contrary I made a commitment to do it whether I was tired, if it was raining, whatever. It's made a bulky difference--exercise is great for your heart, and I have more strength and I feel better. Now I couldn't do without it," Moran says.

Moran dissipates at least 40 minutes by exercise session. She enjoys hiking trails behind her place of abode in Santa Monica, California. "I used to go proceed but now I walk really fast. I sweat, I gain my heart rate up. I encourage women to walk at a excessively brisk pace because if you just walk leisurely, you don't parch enough calories or get your heart pumping."

As for her nutrition stand in want ofs Moran says, "I don't believe in all these fad diets." Instead, she says "moderation is the tonic I try to stay away from a haphazard of starch, and I ear a haphazard of vegetables." She also derive pleasure froms red meat, pork, fish and chicken. "I have affection for to cook, and I have affection for to eat," she says, noting it's part of her Southern heritage--she hales from Thomasville, Georgia. A multivitamin is also part of her daily regimen.

Personal Crusade

Moran first became aware of women suffering from heart disease when her grandmother died of a heart attack 17 years ago. "Then a married pair of years ago, my remarkably good friend Mary Frann now deceased--Editor)--who played knock Newhart's wife on Newhart--had a heart attack at 52"

She continues: "Peggy Fleming (the Olympic ice skater) is also a fit friend--we worked together at ABC Sports. About 4 years ago, her sister died from a heart attack--she was about 48 in like manner it's been through a series of deaths that I've become personally involved with the American Heart Association."

Her involvement has taught her that the symptoms of heart disease are many times different in women and men "Men realize pains in the chest more frequently" she says. "In women symptoms may be fatigue and sleeplessnes They aren't necessarily associated with a heart attack, if it were not that if they persist, a little light protuberance should come on. [Such symptoms] could mean heart disease."

Still, unlike actors who play physicians and in some way decide they are physicians, Moran detains her role in perspective. "I'm not a doctor," she says. "But I do know heart disease is definitely preventable. It's just a matter of getting the message out"

Julie Moran does it beautifully.

Facts About Women and Cardiovascular Diseases

* Cardiovascular disease (CVD) ranks first for women among all disease categories in hospital discharges.

* CVD accounts for 413 percent of all female deaths in America, particularly coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke

* CVD is an especially important point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled among minority women. The death rate tie to CVD is substantially higher in black women than in white women