Wellness Resource: February is Heart Health Month

Working Together to Prevent One Million Heart Attacks and Strokes

• 1 of every 3 deaths is caused by heart disease and stroke
• Health care costs for heart attack and stroke: $312.6 billion
• Leading cause of preventable death in people 40–65 years of age
• More than 2 million heart attacks and strokes each year

To prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes, health care professionals and public health workers should do what we know works:
Focus on the ABCS

• Aspirin when appropriate
• Blood pressure control
• Cholesterol management
• Smoking cessation

Use health IT
Use electronic health records and other health IT to identify patients who need support to improve their ABCS and then track their progress over time.

Use team-based care
Use clinical innovations, including:

• Use everyone who interacts with patients to the top of their skills and license
• Self-measured blood pressure monitoring with clinical support
• Reward and recognize excellence in the ABCS

By doing what we know works, health care professionals, health care systems, and public health organizations can help prevent 1,000,000 heart attacks and strokes and meet these goals by 2017:

• 47% to 70% increase in aspirin use for secondary prevention
• 46% to 70% increase in blood pressure control
• 33% to 70% increase in cholesterol management
• 23% to 70% increase in help for those who want to quit smoking
• 20% reduction in sodium consumption
• 50% reduction in trans-fat consumption

For more information on effectiveness of team-based care, visit:

• www.thecommunityguide.org/cvd/teambasedcare.html 
• www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2013/dpk_13_in_2013.html 
• www.millionhearts.hhs.gov

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention