CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Connecticut
Capacity Building

The Connecticut Department of Public Health began receiving funds from CDC in 2008 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• More than 1 out of 4 deaths in Connecticut are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 7,490 Connecticut residents died from heart disease in 2006 (25.6% of total deaths in Connecticut). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 1,547 Connecticut residents died from stroke in 2006 (5.3% of total deaths in Connecticut). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)

See the Connecticut Department of Public Health report, The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Connecticut—2006, [PDF–348K] for more burden statistics.

• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Connecticut reported the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 26.2% had high blood pressure
  • 38.3% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 7.3% had diabetes
  • 15.4% were current smokers
  • 59.2% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 47.6% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days
  • 71.5% ate fruit and vegetables less than 5 times a day

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate collaboration among public and private sector partners, such as managed care organizations, health insurers, federally funded health centers, businesses, priority population organizations, and emergency response agencies.
  
• Define the burden of heart disease and stroke and assess existing population-based strategies for primary and secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke within the state.
  
• Develop and update a comprehensive state plan for heart disease and stroke prevention with emphasis on heart-healthy policies development, physical and social environments change, and disparities elimination (e.g., based on geography, gender, race or ethnicity, or socioeconomic status).
  
• Identify culturally appropriate approaches to promote heart disease and stroke prevention among racial, ethnic, and other priority populations.
  
• Use population-based public health strategies to increase public awareness of the signs and symptoms of heart disease and stroke, the urgency of early treatment for heart disease and stroke, and the need to call 9-1-1.

State Highlights

• The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program (HDSP) provided preventative health and human services block grant funding to four grantees in the state to address community-level heart disease and stroke disparities among black residents. The grantees will focus on the following
  • Controlling high cholesterol and  high blood pressure.
  • Reducing other heart disease and stroke risk factors (e.g., tobacco use, diabetes, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition).
  • Recognition of signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke and the need to call 911.
• The Connecticut DPH chronic disease programs partner with the American Heart Association and the statewide library system to promote community awareness of heart disease and stroke and related risk factors. Together, these organizations have distributed national health observance promotion health messages and activities to the 226 public and academic libraries in the state.
• The Connecticut HDSP Program established a collaborative chronic disease workgroup in collaboration with other DPH chronic disease programs and external partners. This workgroup will create an interdisciplinary plan that encompasses heart disease and stroke, diabetes, and tobacco common modifiable risk factors by June 2012.
• In October, 2007, Connecticut DPH officially launched its primary stroke center designation program. The stroke care committee worked with DPH to establish criteria, based on that of the Brain Attack Coalition and American Stroke Association, necessary for hospitals to achieve designation. As of June 2010, 21 of Connecticut’s 30 adult acute care hospitals have been recognized as primary stroke centers by DPH.
• The Connecticut HDSP engaged partners to develop a comprehensive plan to address stroke in the state. More than 80 partners participated in the development of the stroke plan in 2008, which was formally published in June 2009. The stroke plan has four focus areas
  • Prevention and community education.
  • Emergency response.
  • Hospital care.
  • Post-stroke and rehabilitation.
• The Connecticut HDSP Program partners with the American Heart Association and the Office of Emergency Medical Service in the development and implementation of the HEARTSafe Program. The aim of the program is to improve emergency response and patient outcome through education regarding
  • The signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac events.
  • The importance of calling 911.
  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
  • Automated external defibrillators use (AED).

  The program also ensures that access to AEDs is improved. As of January 2011, 64 of 169 Connecticut communities have become HEARTSafe.

For more information, visit the Connecticut Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention program.

To view county–level data, visit our interactive map site.