BAYSIDE -- Your thoughts on heart disease and stroke -- and what the state can do to better prevent them -- are requested at a public forum Tuesday.

The forum is the last of seven statewide to collect local input on heart disease and stroke prevention and treatment. A report including comments from these forums will be submitted to a state task force charged with developing a California Master Plan for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and Treatment.

The governor and Legislature will appoint members to the state task force later this year. It was created by legislation introduced in February 2003 by North Coast Assemblywoman Patty Berg. Funding to convene the task force comes from private groups. Support has come from the American Heart Association, AstraZeneca (in the form of an unrestricted educational grant) and Kaiser Permanente.

Invited panelists will include representatives from public health, the health care industry, populations at high-risk for heart disease and stroke, schools, and experts in nutrition and physical activity. All the panelists will be asked to respond to five key questions:

* What are the three most important changes in California that need to be made in order to reduce death and disability from heart disease and stroke?

* What do people in California need to learn about heart disease and stroke? What do physicians and health care professionals need to learn about heart disease and stroke?

* What needs to happen in California schools, work places, and communities to prevent heart disease and stroke?

* What needs to change in the health care setting to improve a) prevention of heart disease and stroke, and b) quality of treatment delivered to patients with heart disease or stroke?

* How can we reduce health disparities in heart disease and stroke?

Anyone attending the forums may respond to the following questions either during the public comment portion of each forum or in writing, or by e-mailing mhinojosa@dhs.ca.gov .

The forum takes place from 9:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Humboldt Area Foundation on Indianola Road.

The first six forums were held in Fresno, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and San Diego.