Patients ask me all the time where they can learn more on their own. The internet is full of noise, so I’ve put together a short list of sites I actually trust. Everything below comes from the CDC, NIH, NHLBI, NIMH, Mental Health America, or MedlinePlus. Bookmark whatever applies to you and share with family who might benefit.
Mental Health, Anxiety, and Depression
The connection between mental health and heart health is real. Anxiety and depression affect blood pressure, sleep, and the choices you make every day. These are the resources I point people to first.
- NIMH: Anxiety Disorders Overview. The National Institute of Mental Health’s overview page. Covers the major types, symptoms, and treatments in plain language.
- NIMH: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). A focused publication on GAD specifically. Useful if “worry that won’t quit” describes you or someone you love.
- CDC: Emotional Wellbeing. The CDC’s hub for coping, stress, and everyday emotional health.
- MedlinePlus: How to Improve Mental Health. A clean, practical guide from the National Library of Medicine.
- Mental Health America: Live Your Life Well. Ten evidence-based tools for handling stress and building resilience.
- Mental Health America: 31 Tips to Boost Your Mental Health. A small, doable tip for every day of the month.
- NIH: Emotional Wellness Toolkit. Six research-backed strategies from the NIH.
In Spanish:
Heart Disease
- CDC: About Heart Disease. The CDC’s plain-English overview of what heart disease is, who it affects, and the major risk factors.
- CDC Archive. The CDC’s library of older fact sheets and pages. Useful when a doctor or article references a page that has since been retired.
Women and Heart Disease
- NHLBI: Listen to Your Heart. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s “Heart Truth” campaign for women. Heart attack symptoms in women often look different than in men. This page explains how.
Prevention
- CDC: Preventing Heart Disease. The lifestyle changes that actually move the needle, with specifics.
High Cholesterol
- CDC: Cholesterol Prevention. Practical prevention guidance from the CDC.
- CDC: Cholesterol Communications Kit. Shareable graphics and short articles. Helpful if you want to educate family or a faith community.
- NHLBI: Cholesterol and Your Heart Fact Sheet. One page. What you need to know.
In Spanish:
- Colesterol y Su Corazón, Lo Que Necesita Saber. NHLBI fact sheet in Spanish.
- Colesterol en la Sangre. The full NHLBI Spanish resource on blood cholesterol.
- Vivir con Colesterol en la Sangre. Living with high cholesterol day to day.
Heart Healthy Diet
- NHLBI: Listen to Your Heart (Diet and Lifestyle). Diet sits alongside the other lifestyle factors here. Worth a read.
Know Your Heart Health Numbers
- NHLBI: Know and Control Your Heart Health Numbers. Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, BMI. The numbers I want every patient to know by heart.
Smoking
- NHLBI: Smoking and Your Heart. What smoking does to your cardiovascular system, and what changes when you quit.
Strengthen Your Heart and Practice Self Care
- NIH: Your Healthiest Self Wellness Toolkits. NIH’s full library of toolkits covering physical, emotional, social, environmental, and disease prevention wellness. Worth bookmarking.
In Spanish:
- NIH: Herramientas de Bienestar. The NIH wellness toolkits in Spanish.
Recursos en Español (Todos en un Lugar)
If Spanish is the language you’re most comfortable reading in, here are the resources above gathered together:
- Colesterol y Su Corazón, Lo Que Necesita Saber.
- Colesterol en la Sangre.
- Vivir con Colesterol en la Sangre.
- Sus Sentimientos (Bienestar Emocional).
- Herramientas de Bienestar.
A final note. Reading reliable information is a good first step, but it doesn’t replace a conversation with your physician. If anything you read here raises a question about your own health, bring it to your next appointment. That’s what we’re here for.
