News, Events and Research from the Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Unit delivered monthly.

The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke—two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Nearly half of US adults have hypertension, and only about 1 in 4 has it under control (<130/80 mm Hg). More concerning is that our progress in hypertension control has stalled and racial and geographic disparities persist. Greater hypertension control is possible, but we must increase our efforts, explore new interventions, and expand our partnerships with different sectors to make a difference.

The CDC has released The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension, which summarizes recent data, identifies goals and strategies to accelerate national efforts, and outlines how different sectors, beyond public health and governmental agencies, can work together to promote control across all populations. This report is timely and critical, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the impact of chronic conditions, such as hypertension, on African American, Hispanic, and other minority populations that experience health inequities. The report outlines three goals to support improvement, each with strategies to accelerate progress:

• Goal 1. Make hypertension control a national priority.
• Goal 2. Ensure that the places where people live, learn, work, and play support hypertension control.
• Goal 3. Optimize patient care for hypertension control.

We have the tools and resources to substantially improve hypertension control.  You can help spread the word that hypertension control is possible. Download, share, and use the Call to Action report and the Partner Toolkit to promote hypertension control.

Cutting Straight to the Heart: A pandemic lays bare the inequity of heart disease in America
COVID-19 has laid bare the costs to society and communities of inadequate attention to cardiometabolic health and health inequity. Because people with poor cardiometabolic health are most vulnerable to COVID-19, this neglect has led to many avoidable deaths, much severe illness, and huge economic costs, as well as even greater disparities than before. These newly compounded burdens fall heavily on disadvantaged groups in our society who already suffer disproportionately. Why? Please check out this report from the National Forum of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.

CMS approves telehealth cardiac rehab during COVID-19 pandemic
Responding to a key recommendation made by the American College of Cardiology and other stakeholders, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) used emergency rulemaking authority to add cardiac rehab and intensive cardiac rehab services to the list of approved telehealth services outside the annual rulemaking process. Learn more here.

Coach resources: Enroll and retain people in the type 2 Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Change Program
This webinar recording walks through the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program’s newest tools for supporting recruitment and retention efforts for coaches and coordinators in the Lifestyle Change Program.

DASH announces Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) funding program
With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH) in partnership with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), is launching the Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) program. LAPP will provide five awardees with $100,000 each to: (a) engage partners to advance existing data-sharing or data-integration efforts; (b) systematically share data across sectors (e.g., social services, public health, and health care); and (c) build relationships among community and state partners to inform decision-making and strengthen systems that support community goals for improved health, well-being and equity. Applications are due December 16, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. MST. Learn more and apply here.

Opportunities and responsibilities for pharmacists to improve their effectiveness in addressing medication adherence through culturally sensitive collaborations with community health workers
This article is a synopsis of a commentary published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association in March 2020. In response to well-documented racial and ethnic disparities in medication adherence, the authors suggest integrating community health workers (CHWs) in pharmacy practices to help close gaps in knowledge and awareness of medication use. They conclude by saying that adding CHWs to pharmacy practices could help improve medication adherence rates among minority populations and reduce health disparities by leading to better health outcomes.

Reducing Hypertension in High-Risk Populations: Empowering Patients to Improve Blood Pressure
WHEN: November 10, 1-2 p.m.
WHAT: The United States Surgeon General recently released a Call to Action to Control Hypertension. This Call to Action focuses ensuring proper management of hypertension and optimizing care for patients with hypertension. Coinciding with this initiative, the American College of Preventive Medicine will present the next webinar in the Reducing Hypertension in High-Risk Populations series. This session titled, "Empowering Patients to Improve Blood Pressure," will focus on the benefits of self-measured blood pressure programs, identify resources to support patients in self-measuring their blood pressure and discuss an example of a clinic-based blood pressure improvement program that was adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to help patients begin to monitor and record their blood pressure at home. Learn more and register here.

Copyright © 2015 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, All rights reserved.

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