Million Hearts^®

CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) is proud to announce the release of the Million Hearts® Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package (HPCP). This guide was developed with CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health and in partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG), American Medical Association (AMA), National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH), and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM).  

The Million Hearts® HPCP is a quality-improvement guide, full of practical tools and resources gathered from and tailored for clinical teams caring for pregnant and postpartum women in outpatient settings.  The HPCP includes strategies to improve:  

·        Identification of chronic hypertension in women of reproductive age and early pregnancy 

·        Aspirin prophylaxis for preeclampsia prevention 

·        Appropriate use of antihypertensive medications and self-measured blood pressure monitoring 

·        Postpartum counseling on warning symptoms and management of long-term cardiovascular risk 

·        Effective transitions of care  

The Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package is a “power tool” for improving health outcomes for women and families. Help us put this tool to work. 

·        Review the HPCP with your team, colleagues, and networks. 

·        Find your role to make what works, what happens in your home, practice, and community.  

·        Select at least one change idea to implement; get started now.  

·        Collaborate with others to expand the reach of this important work. 

Improving HiP is a big job, one that calls for action by each of us: public health experts, healthcare professionals, community and business leaders, family members and co-workers. The returns are huge: a healthier future for the nation.  

Thank you for your contributions, past and yet to come, to realize this vision. 

Blood pressure guidelines: using science for integrated public health and clinical care systems

2014 Webinar Slide Deck

2014 Webinar Recording

This webinar continued the discussion of guidelines, focusing specifically on the 2013 ACC / AHA / CDC Science Advisory: An Effective Approach to High Blood Pressure Control (Available here). Featuring Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Heart Association, the webinar will also address the role of public health, payers, and other key partners in adopting a systems approach to improve hypertension control.

National Forum and ASTHO Million Hearts Learning Collaborative Project LEARNING SESSION SERIES on Policy, Program and System Strategies to Control Hypertension

The National Forum and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) host podcasts  highlighting the various ways practitioners promote detection, treatment and control of hypertension. Referred to as our learning session series, these short conversations provide listeners with guidance on how to implement and/or move forward policies, practices and system strategies that improve control of high blood pressure in patients. Series topics are:

• Learning Session 1 – Working with Pharmacists to Increase Medication Therapy Management
• Learning Session 2 – Linking Patient Data from the Community to Clinical Practice
• Learning Session 3 – Using Electronic Health Records Data to Build Registries for Quality Improvement
• Learning Session 4 – 2014 Million Hearts Challenge Champion in Hypertension Control – Essentia Health
• Learning Session 5 – 2014 Million Hearts Challenge Champion in Hypertension Control – P.S. Rudie Clinic
• Learning Session 6 – Working with Pharmacists for High Blood Pressure Medication Therapy Management
• Learning Session 7 – Health Equity and Increasing Medication Adherence for Hypertension Control
• Learning Session 8 – Working with Faith-based Entities to Increase Hypertension Awareness and Control
• Learning Session 9 – Nurse Engagement in Hypertension Control via Clinical Systems Changes
• Learning Session 10 – Navigating Outreach Collaborations to Support Community/Clinical Linkages

*Each “Learning Session” runs about 20 minutes.

Background
The National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention (National Forum) collaborates with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) to 1) support state chronic disease programs development through the ASTHO Million Hearts Learning Collaborative and 2) administer policy and system changes that improve the ability of public health professionals and clinical practitioners to address hypertension in their population.

Million Hearts Goals Using the Community Prevention Services Task Force Recommendations: A Focus on Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

The National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (National Forum), a multi-stakeholder group of organizations, collaborates with national groups to promote detection, treatment and control of hypertension. The National Forum teamed up with the American Heart Association (AHA) to inform groups on recommended strategies that can improve the ability of public health professional and clinical practitioners to address hypertension, high blood cholesterol and tobacco use in their community.

The National Forum organized a conversational session between a member of the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force, which releases recommendations through the Community Guide, and a public health expert that has implemented these recommendations at the state and local level.

Speakers:

John M. Clymer, Member, U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force

Philip Huang, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Austin-Travis County Health and Human Services

2014 Webinar Slide Deck

2014 Webinar Recording

Main points presented:

• Using evidence-based or best practices should be used when choosing interventions that will achieve results.
• The Community Preventive Services Task Force is an independent, non-compensated panel of public health and prevention experts appointed by the CDC.  The Task Force conducts systematic reviews on the most pressing public health priorities and releases recommendations for policies and practices in The Community Guide. Million Hearts features the Community Guide recommendations as important strategies in addressing heart disease and stroke.
• The recommendations featured today are 1)Team Based Care; 2) Reducing Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs for medications to control high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol; 3) Clinical Decision Support Systems for CVD prevention; 4) Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Evidence based Tobacco Cessation Treatments – Including Use of QuitLines.
• Austin Travis County Health and Human Services Department has included the use of evidence-based and best practices for as a part of their strategic plan. They have successfully worked to reduce CVD risk factors by collaborating with clinicians and clinical groups (indigent care clinics, UT School of Pharmacy) by implementing team based care, clinical decisions support systems and the Quitline.

ASTHO Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Learning Collaborative

Insights from National Partners