FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH
In this blog, I’ll be reviewing the statistics specific to mortality associated with heart disease, the monetary cost of heart disease in the United States, risk factors for heart disease, as well as available “tool kits” for the management of heart disease.
Prevalence in the U.S.: Approximately 659,000 people in the U.S. die from heart disease annually, accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. (Department of Health and Human Services (2022).
Monetary Cost: Heart disease cost the U.S. approximately $363 billion annually from 2016 – 2017. This included the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity due to death (Department of Health and Human Services (2022).
Risk Factors: High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. There are other medical conditions and lifestyle choices that can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including, but not limited to:
Management by Standardization of Evidence Based Practice and Use of “Tool Kits”: It is recommended that providers make a commitment to following the most current clinical guidelines for the management of high blood pressure control to ensure that care is cost-effective, evidence based, and accessible and controlled amongst all populations. The use of the following “tool kits”, in conjunction with The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension is a recommended approach to implementing protocols, and using data to improve health outcomes.
- Lifestyle changes
Recipes for a Heart-Healthy Lifestyleexternal icon
2. Health equity
Alliance for the Million Hearts® Campaign Partner Toolkit
Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medications
3. Self-measured Blood Pressure Monitoring
Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring
Self-Management Support and Education
4. Medication Adherence
Pharmacy: Collaborative Practice Agreements to Enable Collaborative Drug Therapy Management
Improving Medication Adherence Among Patients with Hypertension
Community Pharmacists and Medication Therapy Management
5. Standardizing and Improving Patient Care
Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Change Package, Second Edition
Implementing Clinical Decision Support Systems
Team-Based Care: Promoting Team-Based Care to Improve High Blood Pressure Control
6. Identifying Patients with Hypertension
Undiagnosed Hypertensionexternal icon
The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension focuses on Standardization of patient care, minimization of variation in care delivery, prompt medication initiation for the management of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, standardization of timely patient follow-up, and reinforcement of lifestyle counseling and referrals. All members of the clinical care team are empowered to engage in the management of the patient to ensure a positive outcome
References
Department of Health and Human Services (2022), Heart Disease, Tools and Training. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/tools_training.htm
Department of Health and Human Services (2022), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion , Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Department of Health and Human Services (2020), The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension.