February is American Heart Month. As a health care professional or clinician, you are very aware of the dangers of hypertension. It can increase an individual’s risk for heart disease and stroke and negatively affect other health outcomes. This toolkit, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is designed for health care professionals and clinicians to help support their patients’ hypertension control. These resources can help your clinical team implement protocols, use data to improve health outcomes and be inspired by other practices’ success stories.
Access the Toolkit.The toolkit includes resources for lifestyle changes, health equity, self-measured blood pressure monitoring, medication adherence, standardizing patient care and identifying patients with hypertension.
Additional Resources:
- North Dakota Department of Health
- South Dakota Department of Health
- State Public Health Actions to Prevent and Control Chronic Diseases
- The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension
- Million Hearts®
- American Heart Association
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Wear Red – Friday, February 4
National Wear Red Day is supported by the American Heart Association and celebrated in conjunction with national heart health month. It focuses specifically on raising awareness of women’s heart disease and stroke risks. Cardiovascular disease causes 1 in 3 deaths in women every year making it the number one health related killer in women. The good news is 87 percent of all heart issues are believed to be preventable making awareness, education, research, and resources vital to the cause this holiday supports.¹
The first Friday in February (February 4) is National Wear Red Day. On this day, we are encouraged to wear the color red to raise and spread awareness in hopes to help eradicate heart disease and stroke in millions of women all over the nation. Learn more.