February is American Heart Month, a time when people unite to battle heart disease and raise awareness about what Americans can do to live heart-healthy lives. For people with diabetes, it is particularly important to take care of your heart because having diabetes means you are more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke. People with diabetes can take steps to lower their chances of developing diabetes-related heart problems by taking care of blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Learn more with NDEP's Take Care of Your Heart. Manage Your Diabetes. tip sheet (available in English and 15 Asian languages), and NDEP's bilingual (English and Spanish) You Are the Heart of Your Family...Take Care of It. (Usted es el corazón de la familia...cuide su corazón) tip sheet and updated flip chart presentation. Help busy people and families shop for, prepare, and serve heart-healthy meals with recipes from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's Keep the Beat Recipes: Deliciously Healthy Dinners.

This Valentine's Day, NDEP also encourages people to support their loved ones with diabetes. Diabetes is a hard disease to handle alone, and having the support of family members, friends, and loved ones can go a long way. Help people support their sweetheart this Valentine's Day with NDEP's tip sheet Help a Loved One with Diabetes and feature article Dealing with Diabetes: How to Support a Loved One with the Disease.Remember, the best gift to give someone special is love, support, and knowledge of how to manage diabetes so you can live a healthy life together.

Compared to the general public, African Americans are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes. As we celebrate Black History Month, NDEP wants to remind people that knowing your family history of disease is an important part of understanding your risk for developing a number of serious diseases, including type 2 diabetes. In fact, most people with type 2 diabetes have a family member—such as a mother, father, brother or sister—with the disease. NDEP is encouraging people to explore NDEP's Family History web page to learn more about diabetes risk factors and why it's important to talk to your family about diabetes.

Making lifestyle changes—such as eating healthy foods and losing a small amount of weight—can also help people prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. For fun, creative tips on how to eat healthy and get active, share NDEP's More Than 50 Ways to Prevent Diabetes tip sheet. Get moving with NDEP's Step by Step: Moving Towards Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes music CD, which features original songs with empowering messages that help African Americans incorporate physical activity into their daily lives. Or, get the whole community involved with NDEP's Road to Health Toolkit, a toolkit designed to help African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.

In support of American Diabetes Association Alert Day^® on March 27, NDEP will work with its partners throughout the month of March to raise awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and the risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes. In addition to encouraging people to know their risk for developing type 2 diabetes by taking the Diabetes Risk Test, NDEP will be encouraging people to take the first step toward better health by using NDEP's new Just One Step interactive online tool (coming soon).

NDEP's Just One Step tool is just one of the many offerings and ideas that NDEP will have available to support partners in promoting Diabetes Alert Day in their communities. Stay tuned for more information by visiting NDEP's Diabetes Alert Day page at YourDiabetesInfo.org/alertday2012 (available in mid-February), as well as in the March issue of News & Notes.

Partners Shine in NDEP's Partner Spotlight
In February, NDEP's Partner Spotlight is on VSP^® Vision Care, for adapting NDEP Resources to meet the needs of eye care professionals, patients, and the community.

NDEP and the Association of American Indian Physicians Release a New Toolkit: Living a Balanced Life with Diabetes
The National Diabetes Education Program and the Association of American Indian Physicians are pleased to announce that a new toolkit, Living a Balanced Life with Diabetes, is now available! This toolkit is designed to help health care professionals address psychosocial issues among American Indian and Alaska Natives. Request your free toolkit today at aianpt@cdc.gov.

The Road to Health Toolkit has Continuing Education Credits
Did you know that the Road to Health Toolkit has continuing education credits (CECs)? NDEP is offering CECs for the Road to Health Toolkit and the Road to Health Training Guide. Click here for more information.

CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program is Now Accepting Applications for Program Recognition
If your organization offers a lifestyle change program for people at high risk for type 2 diabetes, consider applying for recognition through the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Organizations accepted into the recognition program will have access to training and technical assistance from CDC. Additionally, CDC will publish contact information for your program in a searchable registry hosted on the CDC web site that will assist with health care provider referrals and program enrollment. Recognition by CDC assures potential participants and others that your organization delivers an effective, high-quality, and evidence-based lifestyle change program that works to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Click here for more information about how to apply online.