CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Virginia
Basic Implementation

The Virginia Department of Health began receiving funds from CDC in 1999 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program. The program received increased funding for basic implementation beginning in 2001.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• More than 1 out of 4 deaths in Virginia are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 14,021 Virginians died from heart disease in 2006 (24.3% of total deaths in Virginia). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)
• 3,523 Virginians died from stroke in 2006 (6.1% of total deaths in Virginia). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)

See the Virginia Department of Health report, Cardiovascular Disease in Virginia—2005, [PDF–456K] for more burden statistics.

• According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Virginia reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  • 27.1% had high blood pressure
  • 37.4% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol
  • 8.0% had diabetes
  • 18.5% were current smokers
  • 61.9% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 50.5% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days
  • 73.7% 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 secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke within the state.
• Implement the 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.
• Support health care organizations system changes to assure quality of care and implementation of primary and secondary prevention for heart disease and stroke.
• Monitor, implement, and evaluate prevention strategies and programs in health care settings, work sites, and communities.
• Provide training and technical assistance for health care professionals, and partners to support secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke.
• Monitor quality of care for secondary prevention.

State Highlights

• The Community Health Center (CHC) Quality Improvement (QI) Project is a collaborative effort of the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) Program, Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, Community Care Network of Virginia (CCNV), and the Tobacco Use Control Program to improve care for Virginia patients with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. CCNV is a statewide primary care provider network and healthcare management company representing providers who serve medically underserved and underinsured populations. CCNV practitioners provide care through 25 CHC organizations at 90 sites across the Commonwealth. CCNV has developed a system to identify and track common performance measures in all member community health centers. As the agency responsible for implementing a common electronic medical records (EMR) system across their network, CCNV is also developing “smart forms” in the EMR system for providers to follow established guidelines in diagnosing, treating, counseling, and recording high blood pressure and high cholesterol, diabetes and pre-diabetes, and tobacco cessation. Twenty-five of the 40 CHCs statewide are participating in the CHC QI project.
• In 2006, the HDSP began partnering with the Virginia Business Coalition on Health (VBCH). The VBCH is a nonprofit, employer-driven organization with more than 60 employer members and a commitment to improving community health care quality through the efforts of employer purchasers and health care providers. One of VBCH’s first activities was to promote appropriate response to medical emergencies, including heart attack and stroke, to all members and affiliated business organizations. From 2007-2010, seven partner companies helped create a toolkit to promote the development of work site wellness programs. A draft version of the toolkit was piloted in three member organizations and feedback was incorporated into the final version. In 2010, the toolkit was finalized; toolkit distribution and evaluation among partner companies will begin in May 2011.
• The HDSP partnered with the American Stroke Association to support stroke systems of care, from primary prevention through rehabilitation, in Virginia. The HDSP was a key member of the state stroke leadership group that developed Virginia’s initial work plan, which comprehensively addresses the components in a stroke system of care. In early 2007, the HDSP was a member of a legislatively appointed work group charged with making policy recommendations for improving stroke systems. In 2008, on the recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Virginia Stroke Systems Task Force was appointed by the Virginia Department of Health. The Task Force, of which the HDSP project manager is a core member, is making numerous advances in stroke systems of care for the state. The HDSP has also partnered with the Virginia Telehealth Network to seek resources to improve the infrastructure in Virginia, in particular to deliver acute stroke care via telehealth solutions in underserved areas.
• A statewide triage plan has been adopted and serves as a model for regional guidance in transporting stroke victims to the nearest appropriate point of care. The plan was reviewed and endorsed by the Virginia Stroke Systems Task Force and has been approved by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Medical Management Committee and the State Board of Health.

For more information visit the Virginia Cardiovascular Health Project Web site.

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