Looking for Some Heart-to-Heart Advice About Valentine’s Day?

Tired of frilly red ribbons and silly candy hearts in abundance around Valentine’s Day? Then take a look at the other heart, the amazingly efficient blood pump that is not so neatly trimmed and is shaped more like an upside-down pear than a Valentine.

Visit the Web site for the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia (https://www.sln.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html) to see blood vessels carrying oxygen and waste products and how this contributes to the overall functioning of your body. It’s a fascinating process.

But for 7 million Americans who suffer from coronary heart disease, the machine is not working right. More than 500,000 Americans die of heart attacks caused by coronary disease, making it the No. 1 killer of men and women.

Want to know whether you are at risk for coronary heart disease? The Houston-based Texas Heart Institute’s Web site (https://www.tmc.edu/thi/heartest.html) offers an interactive risk-awareness quiz based on nine key factors. The quiz can give you an overall feel for whether you may be at risk.

Looking for more? The American Heart Assn. (www.americanheart.org) is a great resource. This site also offers an interactive risk awareness quiz at https://www.americanheart.org/risk/quiz.html. But don’t stop there. There’s information on treating heart ailments and taking care of your heart.

AHA’s site also has an extensive A-to-Z heart and stroke guide, a new women’s Web site (https://women.americanheart.org/), heart disease statistics, health care news and the Top 10 research advances for 1998 (https://www.amhrt.org/Whats_News/AHA_News_Releases/12-30-98top10.html). I learned that using gene therapy to grow new blood vessels was one of the most promising advances last year. You can find information about resuming sexual activity after a heart attack or heart surgery, or send a message to Congress about heart-related issues. The AHA site also includes a good list of Spanish-language materials.

You’ll even discover a Valentine’s Day treat, “Heart to Heart E-cards” (https://www.americanheart.org/ecard/), which enable you to send electronic messages to friends or loved ones encouraging them to improve their health by making lifestyle changes. It takes just a few minutes to select an image (designs created by a stroke survivor), a greeting (it’s more than just a Valentine) and a heart-healthy message.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has a new community-based heart-health promotion initiative you can learn about at https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/nhlbi/cardio/latino/latin_pg.htm. Called “Salud Para su Corazon,” the site also has a special section devoted to lowering cholesterol (https://rover.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/), as well as a list of resources targeting Latino users.

For specific medical information on heart conditions, it’s worth mentioning a few sites that have been featured in previous columns.

Mayo Clinic’s Health Oasis has a Heart Center complete with links, a Q&A; with a Mayo physician and interactive quizzes. The Cleveland Clinic Heart Center sponsors the Heart Forum (https://www.medhelp.org/perl6/cardio/). There you can post questions to a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, who promises to answer all questions. You can also communicate with others who have sent in questions. There’s an archive of past questions and information about the clinic’s services.

And if it’s nutritional content you’re looking for, the Web comes through again. The American Dietetic Assn.’s site reports that you can partake in some Valentine’s Day chocolate and still be true to your heart’s health (https://www.eatright.org/erm/erm021398.html). Turns out that the fat in chocolate does not increase blood cholesterol when consumed in moderate amounts. So if you have the will power to limit your intake (unlike me!), then go for it.

Even the National Assn. of Margarine Manufacturers wants to spread information about healthy nutrition (https://www.healthyfridge.org). In cooperation with the American Medical Women’s Assn., the margarine makers’ “Open the Door to a Healthy Heart” campaign seeks to educate consumers about diet and heart disease (and perhaps increase margarine sales while they’re at it). At the same site, you can also read about the “make-over” done on New Orleans Saints’ Coach Mike Ditka’s refrigerator.

And since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, here are two sites that focus on the emotional heart. Dr. Dean Ornish, best known for his diet and exercise program to reverse heart disease, discusses how love, support, personal connections and intimacy aid the healing process. You can read an interview with him at https://www.pei.sympatico.ca/healthyway/HEALTHYWAY/interview_15.html.

And finally, try Virtual Florist, https://www.virtualflorist.com. It’s a personal favorite. You can send a free virtual bouquet of flowers with a personalized note to anyone who’s online.

And if the commercialism of Valentine’s Day wears you down, you might do this for a loved one: Check out the recommended sites to learn more about your heart and how to take better care of it. Then act on the information, whether it’s saying no to the doughnuts your co-workers brought in, practicing meditation to relieve stress or walking around the block during your lunch hour. You’ll feel a lot healthier, and maybe even more loving, too.

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Marla Bolotsky is managing editor and director of online information for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. She welcomes suggestions of Web sites for review and can be reached by e-mail atmarla.bolotsky@latimes.com.

Your Health Online runs every other Monday in Health.