CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Louisiana
Capacity Building

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals began receiving funds from CDC in 1999 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• 1 out of 4 deaths in Louisiana is due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 10,026 Louisianans died from heart disease in 2006 (25% of total deaths in Louisiana). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 2,195 Louisianans from stroke in 2006 (5.5% of total deaths in Louisiana). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)

See the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals report, Defining the Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke in Louisiana 2008, [PDF–2.77M] for more burden statistics.

• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Louisiana reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 32.1% had high blood pressure
  • 33.7% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 10.2% had diabetes
  • 22.6% were current smokers
  • 65.2% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 61.4% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days.
  • 80.4% 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.

State Highlights

• The Louisiana Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (LAHDSP) program and the Diabetes Prevention and Control program partnered to conduct an assessment of Louisiana’s top seven health insurance providers’ benefit coverage.  The assessment inventoried insurance industry policy needs on benefit coverage for the prevention and treatment of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Additionally, the partnership provided recommendations on effective and cost efficient health promotion and disease prevention practices.  Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) shared the assessment results and recommendations with the Louisiana Association of Health Plans in November 2010.
• The LAHDSP program started a pilot work site wellness initiative within Louisiana’s DHH headquarters.  DHH formed a work site wellness committee with representation from all areas of the organization.  Results from employee interest surveys, aggregate health risk appraisals, and health screening data is being used to initiate activities and recommend healthy policy changes. One suggested policy change would allow use of DHH facilities to support employee fitness and health education programs onsite.  Collaboration and support from the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports has allowed DHH to offer free onsite screenings for employees, including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and body mass index testing twice in 2010. In 2011, this work site wellness project is planned to expand within DHH and to an additional work site.
• An employer work site health toolkit is being developed to assess employer practices, and recommend evidence based strategies to improve employee health policies, health benefits, and health outcomes.  The toolkit will be posted on “Living Well in Louisiana,” a web site sponsored by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, in 2011.
• To increase adherence to acute treatment guidelines for stroke and heart failure, the LAHDSP program provides technical assistance and license support for 20 hospitals as part of the American Heart Association’s "Get With The Guidelines" (GWTG) quality improvement program.   The program receives aggregate data from participating hospitals and status updates on their progress toward nationally recognized standards. The LAHDSP program conducts annual site visits to recognize the hospitals’ successes, discuss barriers, and identify additional assistance needed.
• The LAHDSP program is partnering with Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, a nationally recognized primary stroke center,  to  establish  the Acute Stroke System for Emergent Regional Telestroke (ASSERT).  This telestroke "hub and spoke" network extends 24/7 access for acute stroke care capacity to smaller and rural “spoke” hospitals through access to Ochsner stroke specialists. ASSERT also provides enhanced stroke care training to participating hospital staff.  Five hospitals have been designated as spoke hospitals and four more are on schedule to become spoke hospitals by 2012.

For more information visit the Louisiana Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program.

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