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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 2020 |
Contact: John M. Clymer Executive Director 202-903-7303 |
Statement from National Forum Supports
Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension
Washington, D.C. – The National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention (National Forum) commends Surgeon General of the United States Jerome M. Adams for issuing a Call to Action to Control Hypertension. The National Forum today issued the following statement:
The National Forum urges its members and the nation to answer the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension. Besides our current focus on washing hands, wearing a face mask, and social distancing to help prevent COVID-19 infection, improving blood pressure control may be the highest-impact action we can take to protect and improve people’s health. Getting blood pressure to healthy levels will help prevent heart failure, strokes, kidney failure, cognitive decline, and severe COVID-19 illness. Added efforts should be made for populations that are disproportionately burdened by hypertension.
The Surgeon General’s Call to Action lays out proven and practical strategies to achieve its goals. We call upon Congress and the President, governors, mayors, employers, faith institutions, media, healthcare providers, patient service organizations, health plans, public health, and healthcare industries to work together to make hypertension control a top priority and carry out the Call to Action strategies in their sectors.
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The National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention brings together the most dynamic and diverse organizations united by a goal to eliminate cardiovascular health disparities and achieve health equity. Its members represent more than 100 public, private, and nonprofit sector organizations. The National Forum is an independent non-profit, 501(c)(3), voluntary health organization. To learn more, visit www.nationalforum.org.
The National Forum and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) offer a series of podcasts with leaders of clinical practices that have achieved success with hypertension control. You may access the podcasts at https://www.nationalforum.org/collaborations/million-hearts/.
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