1. Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart
Copyright © 2008 Youth Take Heart

2. Am I Too Young To Be At Risk For Heart Disease?
For this lesson you will need:
Pencil or pen
2 sheets of paper
Fold in half, hamburger style, & number the sections:
top half #1
bottom half #2
back top half #3
back lower half #4
The 2nd paper will look similar & begin with section #5.
** The first 3 Questions will be answered in section #1. Be sure to write small.

3. Think about this:
Who do you know who has had a heart attack or stroke? What happened? How do they cope?
If you do not know someone who has had a heart attack or stroke, what do you know about heart attacks or strokes?
On your paper, in section #1 - Write 2-3 sentences describing your experiences.
Pair: discuss your experience with your shoulder partner.
Share with class.

4. Think about this:
What risk factors (behaviors or choices) could lead to a heart attack or a stroke?
Make a list in Section #1.
Pair: discuss your experience with your shoulder partner.
Share with class.

5. Think about this:
Should a middle school student be concerned about his or her risk factors for heart attacks or strokes? What is your reasoning?
Write about that! (Still in section #1)
Pair: discuss your experience with your shoulder partner.
Share with class.

6. STATISTIC:
About 1 million U.S. teenagers have high blood pressure, high blood-sugar levels or other conditions that may put them at risk of heart disease later in life, according to an American Heart Association report.
Source:

7. Meet Karl
Karl is a typical middle school student. He is in the 8th grade and has lots of friends. His favorite subject is science and he gets good grades in most of his classes. Karl does not play any organized sports, but he does like to skateboard at the local skate park 2 to 3 times a week.
Think: What evidence do we need to gather in order to determine if Karl is at risk for cardiovascular disease?
First discuss: What is cardiovascular disease?

8. Cardiovascular disease is:
Another name for the circulatory system is the cardiovascular system.
Break it down
What do you think “cardio” means?
What do you think “vascular” means?
“Cardio” means “heart.”
“Vascular” means “vessels.”

9. Cardiovascular Disease
Examples of cardiovascular disease include: heart attack, stroke, hypertension and atherosclerosis.
We also call these diseases cardiovascular disease.
As the name implies, the diseases affect the heart and the blood vessels.

10. Cardiovascular diseases:
Atherosclerosis: a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the buildup of fatty material
Hypertension: a disorder in which a person’s blood pressure is consistently higher than normal
Heart Attack: (myocardial infarction) results from a blocked coronary artery. Lack of oxygen-carrying blood to the heart muscle causes damage & pain.
Stroke: a blood vessel of the brain is either blocked or ruptured. When this happens, blood can no longer get to the cells of the brain.
Coronary Blockage

11. Statistic
4.2 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. have metabolic syndrome, a combination of three or more conditions such as:
abnormal blood lipids (fats)
high glucose (blood sugar)
high blood pressure and being overweight or obese
Source:

12. Back to our question…
What evidence do we need to gather in order to determine if Karl is at risk for cardiovascular disease?
In Section #2 on your sheet of paper; work with your partner to brainstorm a list of facts we should know about Karl, his lifestyle, and family history, to determine if he is at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Generate a class list of factors.

13. Let’s find out about Karl
Height: 5’ 9”
Weight: 200 lbs
Blood Pressure: 144/ 95
Average Daily Calories: 3300
Activity level: Other than his skate boarding, Karl does very little physical activity.
Diet: See next slide.
Family History: Karl has no family history of cardiovascular disease.

14. A typical day’s menu for Karl:
Breakfast:
4 Eggo waffles with peanut butter and syrup.
1 glass of whole milk.
School Lunch:
Pizza
French fries with ranch dressing
Cookie
Chocolate milk
Dinner:
Top Ramen noodles
Grilled cheese sandwich
Pepsi
Chocolate cake

15. Determining Karl’s Risk
What other questions do we need to answer before we can determine if Karl is at risk for cardiovascular disease?
With your partner, write down 2 or 3 questions you would need to answer before you could make a determination.
Write them in section #2.

16. Evaluate Karl A healthy blood pressure for Karl is 120/80.
A normal caloric intake for Karl should be between 2200 & 2400 calories per day.
If Karl skateboards for 1 hour 3 days a week he would burn off approximately 500 calories a day.

17. Is Karl at risk?
With your group, discuss the information you have been given.
Based on the evidence, determine whether you feel Karl is at risk for cardiovascular disease. Provide 2 – 3 reasons for your determination.
Write your answer in section #3 on the back of your paper.

18. Karl is at risk for cardiovascular disease!
Why?
Karl’s blood pressure is 144/95.
A healthy blood pressure is approximately 120/80, so Karl has high blood pressure.
Karl’s daily intake of calories was approximately 3308.
A typical youth of Karl’s age and activity level needs between 2200 and 2400 calories, so Karl is taking in too many calories.

19. Karl’s Risk, Continued
Karl’s activity levels are not enough to burn off the excess calories, so they will be stored as fat. Excess body fat can be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease!

20. The good news…
Karl leads a relatively stress-free life. He enjoys his time with family and friends.
Karl does not smoke cigarettes and his parents do not smoke, so he is rarely exposed to second-hand smoke.
Karl’s schedule would allow him more time for physical activity.
Karl’s has no family history of cardiovascular disease.

21. Create a New Plan for Karl
The plan should include a typical daily menu and exercise regimen.
Think about how Karl could make healthy changes to his diet & exercise routines to help him increase his activity levels & reduce his caloric intake. Use the Food/Calorie Chart & the Physical Activity Table.
Remember making healthy choices will reduce your risks of cardiovascular disease.
Write your response in section #4

22. So…Are you too young to be at risk for Heart Disease?
Hopefully you answered “NO!” We all need to be aware of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, even as young adults.
On section #5 of your paper, reflect on a typical day. Using the Food/Calorie Chart and the Physical Activity Table, write down what you currently eat on a normal day as well as what your physical activity would be. (Be honest- what do you usually eat?)

23. Reflect
Think about all of the risk factors we have discussed & evaluate your own choices.
Since we can all be more healthy in some way, identify one aspect of your diet or exercise routine that you could change in order to lower your risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

24. STATISTIC
14% of adolescents in the United States are overweight. This figure has nearly tripled in the last 20 years.
This means that 14% of our teens are at risk for heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Type 2 Diabetes has also increased dramatically in teens as a direct result of teen obesity. Additionally, teens who are dealing with teen obesity have a very high probability of being obese as adults further increasing their risk of other serious health problems.
Source:

25. The Challenge:
Using the Scientific Method, design and execute an experiment to see if making one small change in your daily routine can help you to be more healthy.
Be sure to identify:
ONE change you wish to make. (manipulated variable)
How you will be able to measure to see if the change has made a difference. (responding variable)
How you think the change will improve your health. (reasoning)

26. Example:
Question: What is one change you can make in your daily routine that would improve your health or decrease your risk factors?
Hypothesis: IF I replace soda with water for a month, THEN my weight will decrease, BECAUSE I will be taking in fewer calories.

27. Example: Materials: Procedure:
Bathroom scale, calendar, paper, pencil
Procedure:
Obtain your beginning weight & mark the starting date on your calendar.
For one month substitute water for soda in your daily diet.
After one month weigh yourself again and record your final weight.

28. Example:
Conclusion:
State whether your hypothesis was correct or incorrect.
Briefly explain what happened to your responding variable.
What data can you use to support your conclusion?
What are two ways you might use or share what you learned?