CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Maryland
Capacity Building

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene 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 Maryland are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 11,268 Marylanders died from heart disease in 2006 (25.9% of total deaths in Maryland). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 2,365 Marylanders died from stroke in 2006 (5.4% of total deaths in Maryland). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Maryland reported the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 29.1% had high blood pressure
  • 36.9% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 8.4% had diabetes
  • 17.1% were current smokers
  • 62.7% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 51.8% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days
  • 73.4% 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.
• Continue to define and update the burden of heart disease and stroke to 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 environmental 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 f 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 Maryland Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) program is partnering with the University Of Maryland School Of Pharmacy to implement the Patients, Pharmacists, and Partnerships Program (P3) to address hypertension management in western Maryland work sites.  Modeled after a pilot program in Asheville, North Carolina, the Maryland P3 Program utilizes trained pharmacists as the primary provider to assist patients with medication therapy management. Pharmacists are an underutilized member of the health care team with specialized training in medication therapy management. Medication therapy management is a pharmacist-provided service that helps patients obtain the best medication benefits by identifying, preventing, and resolving medication-related problems. Expected results include health care cost savings, increased aspirin use, increased blood pressure control, increased cholesterol control, and increased smoking cessation.
• The Maryland HDSP program is partnering with the Maryland Health Quality and Cost Council to enlist work site chief executive officers in Healthiest Maryland Businesses, one of  Healthiest Maryland’s components. Healthiest Maryland focuses on policy and environmental changes that promote cardiovascular well-being to improve the health of employees, their families, and the larger community. Healthiest Maryland Businesses, the cornerstone of this initiative, recruits businesses, refers them to accredited work site wellness resources, and publically recognizes those committed to health. Evaluation of the initiative will include measuring the impact of comprehensive work site health management in improving health outcomes. As of December 2010, there are 105 participating businesses, which reach over 175,000 Maryland employees.
• The Maryland HDSP program is partnering with the Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers to implement a cholesterol and blood pressure—as well as diabetes management and smoking cessation—quality improvement initiative in federally qualified health centers.
• The Maryland HDSP program is using its additional funding to implement its work site wellness program, Get Healthy Kent, in Kent County, Maryland. The program is helping four major employers reduce health care costs by bringing primary care to the work site to help control underlying risk factors for heart disease and stroke. The local health department provides participants with free health risk assessments, coordinated case management, and referrals to appropriate resources.

For more information visit Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s heart disease and stroke prevention site.

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