CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Kansas
Capacity Building

The Kansas Department of Health began receiving funds from CDC in 2003 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program. It also received CDC funding to implement a demonstration public health project that addresses program integration and systems change in primary care practice settings.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• Nearly 1 out of 4 deaths in Kansas are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 5,849 Kansans died from heart disease in 2006 (23.8% of total deaths in Kansas). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 1,489 Kansans died from stroke in 2006 (6.1% of total deaths in Kansas). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)

See the Kansas Department of Health and Environment report, Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Kansas—Burden Report [PDF–3.0M] for more burden statistics.

• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Kansas reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 26.8% had high blood pressure
  • 36.6% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 7.3% had diabetes
  • 17.9% were current smokers
  • 63.8% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 51.5% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days
  • 81.2% 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 heart disease and stroke urgency, the signs and symptoms of heart disease and stroke, and the need to call 9-1-1.

Success Story

• Kansas NHDSP Program Success Story: Improving Clinical Preventive Services to Reduce High Blood Pressure [PDF-157K]

State Highlights

• The Kansas Quality of Care Project is a collaborative effort of the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) program and the Diabetes Prevention and Control program to improve care for Kansans with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or diabetes through improved clinical processes and community connections. The goal of the project is to increase primary care practice sites that implement policy and systems changes to ensure quality of care for control and management of high blood pressure.

  Thirteen of the 15 clinics (including rural, urban, and those serving high priority populations) successfully implemented a high blood pressure quality of care component. Eleven clinics implemented policy and systems changes to address high blood pressure control and submitted data on their efforts. Of the 2,303 patients receiving care from participating clinics, 1,449 had high blood pressure without diabetes and 854 had both diabetes and high blood pressure.  Improvement in controlled high blood pressure in patients without diabetes increased from 54.6% in January 2007 to 63.0% in December 2009.

• In June 2010, The Burden of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Kansas was completed. The report will be used to
  • Develop policy briefs.
  • Develop heart disease and stroke databases.
  • Access data sources to comprehensively define the burden of heart disease and stroke.
  • Monitor heart disease and stroke trends statewide and in targeted geographic areas or populations disproportionately affected by heart disease and stroke.

  The Kansas Cardiovascular Disease Advisory Council is utilizing the report to identify goals and objectives for prevention, detection, and treatment of heart disease and stroke in the updated state plan.

• The Kansas HDSP program is partnering with University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute on a pilot project on work site wellness. The pilot project will test a web-based work site assessment tool and develop resources tailored to meet policy and environmental needs for small, medium, and large employers. The pilot project is being conducted in Harvey County, located in south-central Kansas. The goal of the project is to assess employers’ strengths and weaknesses and provide evidence-based recommendations and resources on policy, environment, and systems changes to work sites.

For more information visit the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention program in Kansas.

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