The number one killer of older women is cardiovascular disease. Dr. Margie Maddox, Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, designed a five-session program for Senior Companions called "Heart Buddies" to educate them on maintaining a healthy heart. The five sessions were:

1. Overview of cardiovascular disease and how it presents in older women, which is very different than older men.

2. Common medications, diagnostic tests, and procedures that might be done to detect and treat cardiovascular disease.

3. Review of health nutrition and its role in cardiovascular health.

4. A variety of supportive therapies including laughter, aromatherapy, music therapy, spirituality, and guided imagery.

5. A final session to tie it all together on being a wise medical consumer. Each participant received a three-ring notebook with detailed handouts from class. It included many informational handouts from various community resources, associations related to cardiovascular disease, information related to the topic of older women and cardiovascular disease, health recipes, and a list of Internet and national resources. The notebook was helpful to the participants and could easily be shared with their Senior Companion clients. The program started as an in-service training for the Senior Companions. Since most of the clients the Senior Companions serve are homebound, they were encouraged to share information with clients individually.

The goal of this program is to educate Senior Companions and senior women in general about cardiovascular disease.

The Heart Buddies program was taught three times during the spring and summer of 2000 using grant money. Approximately 35-40 Senior Companions attended the program. The women were evaluated after the class and had increased knowledge. Many of the women who attended the Heart Buddies program said they shared the information with their Senior Companion client as well as friends and family.