WE'RE HEART HEALTHIER HERE IN THE HIGH COUNTRY

1st Colorado's ranking (shared with Washington, D.C.) for having the lowest prevalence of heart disease in the United States, according to a study released Thursday by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The worst states: West Virginia and Kentucky, both known for their high levels of obesity, diabetes and smoking.

The findings came from the first study ever to look at heart disease prevalence state by state.

Among the findings:

• States in the Southeast and

Southwest were heart disease leaders.

• Roughly 4 percent of the nearly 360,000 adults surveyed nationally had had a heart attack.

• A slightly higher percentage reported angina or coronary heart disease, and 6.5 percent reported any of those conditions.

• In West Virginia, more than 10 percent had at least one of the conditions. In Kentucky, it was nearly 9 percent.

• The prevalence in both Colorado and the District of Columbia was a little under 5 percent.

COMRADES

"I had Vladimir Lenin's photo instead of mine on my bio page for two years on our Web site. No one noticed. Seriously. Then one day a lady e-mailed me after seeing me on TV. She said I really should update the photo because I've lost weight."

Jon Caldara, resident jokester and president of the Independence Institute think tank, in his electronic newsletter