Finns find way to cut cardiac death rate

JOENSUU, Finland One of the world's heart disease black spots hasreduced death rates from the disease by persuading thousands ofpeople to change the habits of a lifetime.

Leaders of the North Karelia Project, begun in 1972 in a ruralprovince of eastern Finland, say deaths from heart disease there havedecreased 40 percent.

The project educates the area's 180,000 people about the dangersthat can lead to heart problems: improper diet, smoking and highblood pressure.

"When we started . . . normal Finnish men didn't eat vegetables.They said that was for rabbits," said professor Pekka Puska of theNational Public Health Institute. Instead, their diets …