CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Mississippi
Capacity Building

The Mississippi State Department of Health began receiving funds from CDC in 1998 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• More than 1 out of 4 deaths in Mississippi are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 8,097 Mississippians died from heart disease in 2006 (28.3% of total deaths in Mississippi). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 1,585 Mississippians died from stroke in 2006 (5.5% of total deaths in Mississippi). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)

See the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Mississippi State of the Heart Report 2005 [PDF–1M] and Mississippi Stroke Report 2005 [PDF–957K] for more burden statistics.

• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Mississippi reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 33.7% had high blood pressure
  • 38.5% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 11.1% had diabetes
  • 23.9% were current smokers
  • 68.1% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 60.4% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days
  • 81.9% 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 diseases and stroke, the urgency of early treatment for heart disease and stroke, and the need to call 9-1-1.

State Highlights

• The Mississippi Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) program partners with the Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative (MDHC) to implement evidence-based heart disease and stroke prevention interventions to reduce disabilities, deaths, and related health inequalities in the Delta region. The MDHC partners with and engages community members to
  
  • Develop a community level infrastructure to facilitate policy, environmental, and systems changes.
  • Address social determinants of health and the reduction of health inequalities by bringing together diverse community representation.
  • Improve management of hypertension and reduce the incidence of hypertension among high-risk adults.
• The HDSP program is working with MDHC and the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) to pilot a quality improvement initiative to increase the number of practitioners adhering to current evidence-based guidelines for blood pressure and cholesterol treatment. The initiative is being piloted in five Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and one rural health clinic. Surveys demonstrated FQHCs’ interest in participating in the initiative; pre- and post-test surveys showed an increase in participants understanding of topics presented during learning sessions.
• Survey results from 69 state agencies regarding work site wellness programs are being used to create a comprehensive work site wellness program for state agencies, supported by Senate Bill 2646. This comprehensive support for prevention includes piloting a healthy meals catering policy. In May 2010, the HDSP program sponsored a work site wellness meeting with over 50 representatives, who ranged from representatives of the consumer goods and insurance agencies to those of state agencies. The meeting was held in partnership with the Bureau of Community and School Health.  

For more information on the MCVH Program, visit the Mississippi State Health Department Web site.

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