HOUSTON (December 1, 2006) - The Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital has received awards for two of its websites. The Health Improvement Institute (www.hii.org) has given Aesculapius Awards of Excellence to Texas Heart Institute’s Heart Information Center (www.texasheart.org/hic) and Project Heart (www.texasheart.org/projectheart).

The Heart Information Center (HIC) is a public resource for information on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and related health issues. The HIC has 153 topics on its website available in both English and Spanish. Project Heart is a heart healthy educational resource written by volunteer teachers for teachers, providing free online curricula for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

Texas Heart Institute websites honored with 2006 Aesculapius Award of Excellence.

The Aesculapius Awards, named for the ancient Greek god of healing, are designed to promote and encourage excellence in the communication of information about healthy lifestyles, disease prevention and health care. The award was established by the Health Improvement Institute to promote informed consumer lifestyle choices and health care decisions. Texas Heart Institute previously won a 2005 Award of Excellence.

Heart Information Center website honored with 2006 eHealthcare Leadership Award.

The HIC website was also honored by the eHealthcare Strategy & Trends publication (www.strategichealthcare.com/awards/) with an eHealthcare Leadership Distinction Award in the category of Best Health/Healthcare Content. The honor is given in recognition of outstanding healthcare websites for consumers and healthcare professionals. The Texas Heart Institute was one of 220 healthcare organizations recognized out of 1,100 vying for the honor.

The global Texas Heart Institute website (texasheart.org) received more than two million unique visitors in 2005 and has already exceeded that number this year.

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The Texas Heart Institute, founded by world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Denton A. Cooley in 1962, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the devastating toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative and progressive programs in research, education and improved patient care. Together with its clinical partner, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, it has been ranked among the top ten cardiovascular centers in the United States by U.S. News & World Report’s annual guide to “America’s Best Hospitals” for the past 16 years. The Texas Heart Institute is also affiliated with the University of Texas (UT) System, which promotes collaboration in cardiovascular research and education among UT and THI faculty at the Texas Heart Institute and other UT components. For more information about the Institute, please visit www.texasheart.org.