Resources for Health Care Professionals

American Heart Month 2023

Feeling the pressure? We can help. Blood pressure control is possible.

As a health care professional or clinician, you play an important role helping patients manage and control their health conditions, including hypertension.

Uncontrolled hypertension is the primary contributor to the morbidity and mortality rate disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) between Blacks and Whites.1

By working toward a healthier life, patients and their health care teams can help close disparities gaps together.

Who Should Use This Toolkit?

This toolkit is designed for health care professionals and clinicians to help support their patients taking small steps toward living healthier lives.

These resources can help your clinical team implement protocols, use data to improve health outcomes, and be inspired by other practices’ success stories.

A health equity lens can also help address the needs of all your patient populations and help improve cardiovascular health for all.

How Do I Use This Toolkit?

Clinical Tools and Resources

Explore various types of tools, guides, and success stories that can help you support your patients in taking small steps toward a healthier life and your health care team in implementing best practices.

Lifestyle Changes
Health Equity
  • Focusing on Health Equity
    Learn how Million Hearts® aims to advance health equity through policies and practices that provide access to resources and enable cardiovascular health for all.
  • Community-Clinical Linkages Health Equity Guide
    Practitioners can use this guide to help incorporate health equity into community-clinical linkages (CCLs). CCLs are an effective approach to preventing and managing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease.
  • Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medications
    Download and share the strategies presented in this Best Practices Guide that focus on reducing medication costs for patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
  • Grady Implementation Guide
    This implementation guide for public health practitioners and health care professionals is based on the Grady Heart Failure Program. The guide provides a detailed description of an effective intervention to address health disparities among heart failure patients.
Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring (SMBP)
Medication Adherence
Standardizing and Improving Patient Care
Identifying Patients With Hypertension
  • Blood Pressure Control
    Read about Million Hearts® and their priority to optimize care, starting with supporting blood pressure control. This content includes tools and resources for clinicians, public health practitioners, and patients.
  • Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
    Learn about the different types of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and share Million Hearts® tools and resources about preventing and treating them.
  • Undiagnosed Hypertension
    Learn how to find patients “hiding in plain sight” with undiagnosed hypertension with this video, tools, and communications kit.

Spread the Word

Share the following social media messages with your followers. Don’t forget to tag @CDCHeart_Stroke in your posts and follow us on social media.

February is American #HeartMonth! Although cardiovascular disease (#CVD) death rates have increased across all demographic groups, Black adults continue to be disproportionately affected. Join @Million Hearts and share these lifesaving messages from the #LiveToTheBeat campaign to help Black adults take small steps to prevent heart disease and stroke. https://millionhearts.hhs.gov/partners-progress/partners/live-beat-campaign-toolkit.html

Black adults are twice as likely as White adults to die from preventable heart disease. Together, we can change that number. Use @Million Hearts blood pressure control resources in the #LiveToTheBeat toolkit to support your Black patients take charge of their heart health. #HeartMonth https://millionhearts.hhs.gov/partners-progress/partners/live-beat-campaign-toolkit.html

Cardiovascular disease (#CVD) isn’t exclusive to older adults. Data show that CVD and CVD mortality are increasing among younger populations. Explore change packages, best practice guides, and other tools from CDC to help your team support CVD patients of all ages this #HeartMonth. cdc.gov/heartmonth

No matter where you’re from or where you are, you can take steps toward heart health. Get shareable, evidence-based resources from CDC to help you manage cardiovascular disease (#CVD) in your practice. #HeartMonth cdc.gov/heartmonth

1 in every 3 deaths in the United States is related to cardiovascular disease. Explore CDC’s #HeartMonth toolkits for evidence-based resources to support heart health in your practice. cdc.gov/heartmonth

Only about 1 in 4 adults with #hypertension have their condition under control. The Million Hearts [tag] Hypertension Control Change Package can help improve patient #BloodPressure control with practice- and evidence-based resources. #HeartMonth https://bit.ly/2Net7xY

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a leading cause of death annually. To prioritize effective CVD prevention, the @Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention has developed the “Best Practices for Heart Disease and Stroke: A Guide to Effective Approaches and Strategies.” The updated Best Practices Guide includes 18 evidence-based strategies highlighting public health and health equity. Brief stories highlight specific settings where these strategies have been successfully implemented. Check it out! #HeartMonth https://bit.ly/AHM23PT

Uncontrolled hypertension is the primary contributor to morbidity & mortality rate disparities in cardiovascular disease between Black and White adults. Help improve heart health in your patients with #HeartMonth resources from @CDCHeart_Stroke. cdc.gov/heartmonth

Cardiovascular disease prevention strategies should be effective and sustainable. Check out these 18 evidence-based public health practices targeting key cardiovascular risk factors in @CDCHeart_Stroke’s updated Best Practices Guide. #HeartMonth https://bit.ly/AHM23PT3

Black men and women are at a 70% and 50% elevated risk, respectively, for development of heart failure compared to white adults. Help patients in your practice take the first step to improve their health with the @CDCFound’s Pulse Check tool. #HeartMonth https://pulsecheck.livetothebeat.org/

#Hypertension control is within reach. With your support, self-measured #BloodPressure (SMBP) monitoring can help patients control hypertension. Use these evidence-based tools from @MillionHeartsUS to implement SMBP in your practice. #HeartMonth https://bit.ly/34XsYcl

Only about 1 in 4 adults with #hypertension have their condition under control. The @MillionHeartsUS Hypertension Control Change Package can help improve patient #BloodPressure control with practice- and evidence-based resources. #HeartMonth https://bit.ly/2Net7xY

Black adults are twice as likely than White adults to die from preventable heart disease. Together, we can change that. Help your patients take charge of their heart health with #LiveToTheBeat’s resources on blood pressure control. #HeartMonth https://bit.ly/3G5oodJ

Social Media Graphics

Download these graphics to share on your social media accounts with your colleagues and staff.

Know Your Risk for Heart Disease

Black adults are 2x as likely as white adults to die from preventable heart disease.
Black adults are 2x as likely as White adults to die from preventable heart disease.

Review and share our materials for public health professionals to help your communities live healthier lives.

Download our resources for you to share with individuals and patients in your practice.

Reference

  1. Balfour PC Jr, Rodriguez CJ, Ferdinand KC. The Role of Hypertension in Race-Ethnic Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep. 2015 Apr;9(4):18.