CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Oklahoma
Capacity Building

The Oklahoma State Department of Health began receiving funds from CDC in 2000 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• More than 1 out of 4 deaths in Oklahoma are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 9,798 Oklahomans died from heart disease in 2006 (27.7% of total deaths in Oklahoma). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 2,192 Oklahomans died from stroke in 2006 (6.2% of total deaths in Oklahoma). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)

See the Oklahoma State Department of Health report, The Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke in the Sooner State 2006, [PDF–4.32M] for more burden statistics.

• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Oklahoma reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 31.5% had high blood pressure
  • 41.0% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 10.2% had diabetes
  • 25.8% were current smokers
  • 65.1% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 54.5% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days
  • 83.7% 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

• In 2008, the Oklahoma Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (OHDSP) program, in partnership with the Oklahoma Primary Care Association (OKPCA) and 17 Community Health Centers (CHCs), began establishing cardiovascular and other chronic disease patient registries. Currently, 16 of the 17 centers have adopted the Chronic Disease Electronic Management System (CDEMS), and 11 member centers began transmitting data to OKPCA and OSDH in late 2010. The reason for these registries using CDEMS data is to identify cardiovascular health and other chronic disease trends and to develop initiatives to meet the needs of CHC patients. For example, a potential next step in this project would be implementation of a targeted hypertension and cholesterol quality improvement project.
• Using Preventive Health Services Block Grant funds, the HDSP is continuing the Aspirin Therapy Campaign. The results of the 2008–2009 pilot project indicate that this public awareness campaign can be effectively replicated in other communities. The principal investigator for the pilot project is developing a training manual for communities to use to encourage adults to initiate a conversation with their health care providers regarding the appropriate use of low dose aspirin prophylaxis.
• OHDSP has been instrumental in developing state policy related to cardiovascular health, including the passage of OAC 310:667-59, which requires all hospitals to participate in the statewide trauma and stroke registries, classifies emergency stroke services, and provides for the state designation of primary stroke centers. Since implementation of this policy in 2009, 8 hospitals have become JCAHO stroke certified and 26 have become state-recognized primary stroke centers.
• The OHDSP has participated in the development of and now provides support for a Statewide Stroke Coordinators’ Consortium. It comprises hospital-based stroke care coordinators responsible for implementing either Joint Commission accreditation standards (in order to achieve Joint Commission accreditation as a primary stroke center) or coordinators in Oklahoma hospitals who wish to be a state-recognized primary stroke center. The Consortium meets quarterly for training, technical assistance, tool sharing, problem solving, etc. It also hosts an annual Summer Stroke Symposium attended by stroke care providers from across the state. OHDSP facilitates the Consortium by funding training for Oklahoma hospitals applying for status as a primary stroke center.

For more information visit the heart disease and stroke prevention program in Oklahoma.

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