CardioExchange Archive

AHA and Wii: A Controversial Relationship: A deal struck between the American Heart Association and Nintendo of America was the subject of a critical news report on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” AHA president Clyde Yancy told GMA that Nintendo was giving $1.5 million over 3 years to the AHA, prompting Columbia University’s David Rothman to say: “Sooner rather than later, the public is going to understand that this is a commercial transaction.”

The AHA issued a response to the GMA segment, saying the story gave the wrong impression that the AHA is endorsing all Wii games, even those that are sedentary. The AHA said: “This is not accurate. The AHA and Nintendo logos, along with the statement defining our relationship, ‘Working together to promote physically active play as part of a healthy lifestyle’, will be on boxes for the Wii Fit™ Plus and Wii Sports Resort™ software and for the Wii™ system that plays them beginning this summer.” In the blogosphere, two cardiologists, Dr. Westby Fisher and Dr. John Mandrola, expressed concern over the AHA’s willingness to partner with Nintendo. A more detailed account of the episode can be found on CardioBrief.

Getting With the Guidelines Reduces Disparities in Treatment: Over time, hospitals participating in the “Get With the Guidelines” program not only improved their overall treatment of MI patients but eliminated racial and ethnic disparities of care, according to a report by Mauricio Cohen and colleagues in Circulation. In an accompanying editorial, Nakela Cook asks: “Will achieving 100 percent defect-free care in all patients also eliminate disparities in clinical outcomes, or do we need specific initiatives targeted at contributors or sub-populations to move toward the true elimination of health disparities? The question will not be easy to answer …”