DETROIT, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Take a stroll through a 12-foot-tall human heart. See a clogged artery. Witness the effects of high blood pressure and high cholesterol up close and first hand. Find out quickly and easily, what your risks are for heart disease and what you can do to prevent it. It’s all possible at the Step Into Heart Health(TM) exhibit.
Step Into Heart Health(TM) will open at The New Detroit Science Center on March 3, 2005. Through a generous donation from Pfizer Inc, Step Into Heart Health(TM) will become a permanent addition to the Science Center’s Human Anatomy exhibit area. The exhibit is free to all visitors, with paid General Admission.
“The New Detroit Science Center is the ideal museum for visitors to see this exhibit,” said Roger Newton, Senior Vice President of Esperion Therapeutics, a division of Pfizer Inc focused on developing treatments for cardiovascular disease. “As a home to numerous life-science companies, and the birthplace of Pfizer’s cardiovascular medicine Lipitor (atorvastatin), Southeast Michigan is a center of important heart research,” continued Newton. “Pfizer joins the Science Center in its ongoing commitment to helping families in this region understand the science behind a cardiovascular disease -- a disease that impacts almost all of our lives.”
Step Into Heart Health(TM) blends important health information with colorful, interactive exhibits, including a giant walk-through heart. Kiosks allow visitors to take a simple quiz to find out what their risks are of developing heart disease.
Heart disease has been the number one cause of death in the U.S. every year since 1900, except for one. Many residents from Michigan have reported one or more of the following risk factors for heart disease*:
- 27 percent of adults in Michigan have high blood pressure - 38 percent have high blood cholesterol levels - 62 percent are overweight or obese - 8 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes - 22 percent are physically inactive - 26 percent are smokers
The exhibit will help Science Center visitors understand how the heart works and what can go wrong, such as high blood pressure, strokes and heart conditions. Visitors also will learn the causes of heart disease that they can control, and those they can’t, and discover the difference between “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol.
The New Detroit Science Center features 110,000 square feet of scientific exploration, including Michigan’s only IMAX(R) Dome Theatre; the Dassault Systemes Planetarium; the Ford Learning Resource Center; the DTE Energy Sparks Theater; the DaimlerChrysler Science Stage; an 8,700 square-foot Science Hall for traveling exhibits; five exhibit laboratories -- General Motors Motion Laboratory, Dow Foundation Life Sciences Laboratory, Waves & Vibrations Laboratory, Jean and Sam Frankel Matter & Energy Laboratory and SBC Children’s Gallery; and a Special Events Lobby. It has served more than 1.2 million visitors in its first 3 years. For more information, please call 313-577-8400 or visit the website, http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/
Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets leading prescription medicines for humans and animals and many of the world’s best- known consumer brands. Our innovative, value-added products improve the quality of life of people around the world and help them enjoy longer, healthier, and more productive lives. The company has three business segments: health care, animal health and consumer health care. Our products are available in more than 150 countries.
* Source: Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Online Prevalence Data, 1995-2003. Hypertension Awareness - 2003.
The New Detroit Science Center
CONTACT: Matthew Birman, PR & Community Outreach Coordinator of The NewDetroit Science Center, +1-313-577-8400, ext. 446,mbirman@sciencedetroit.org
Web site: http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/