Medical News: HHS Aims to Save a Million Hearts on Astini News
The Obama administration today declared war on heart disease and rolled out an ambitious offensive with the stated goal of cutting the rate of heart attacks and strokes by one million events over the next five years.
"Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., costing $444 billion annually in lost productivity and medical spending," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said during a news conference at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
"With two million heart attacks and strokes a year and 800,000 related deaths, just about all of us have been touched by these events," she said.
Treating heart disease and stroke costs $1 out of every $6 in healthcare expenditures, she said.
Against that background, the HHS secretary unveiled a campaign called the Million Hearts initiative, with a goal of improving both primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention.
On the dais with Sebelius were leaders from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Walgreens, United Healthcare, YMCA, American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology, American Medical Association (AMA) and others.
Each group represented a unique constituency in a preventive medicine coalition that cuts across state and federal jurisdictions, said Thomas Frieden, MD, director of the CDC.
"But together, we can better help patients to focus on the most important aspects of cardiovascular disease protection," he said.
"Cardiovascular disease is a big problem and the Million Hearts initiative is a big solution," he said.
Despite the progress that has been made in preventative measures, many Americans who should take daily aspirin do not; many who could reduce their blood pressure do not; and many who want to quit smoking do not get the help they need, Frieden said.
He noted that technology, such as electronic medical records, and partnerships with third-party payers can help increase the number of people who comply with primary, as well as secondary, prevention.
Frieden said that the government would also form strategic partnerships with the food industry in an effort to reduce the amount of sodium and sugar in processed foods.
CMS administrator Donald Berwick, MD, said that his agency will lead the fight armed with an arsenal of quality reporting metrics and meaningful use criteria to help with the goal to reduce heart attacks and strokes, as well as a full menu of financial incentives aimed at primary prevention.
As a first step, CMS will award 10 states $85 million in grants for the prevention of chronic diseases -- grants that will pay for weight reduction and smoking cessation programs as well as initiatives that target control of lipids and diabetes prevention.
Berwick also said that CMS will encourage Americans to take advantage of annual wellness visits at no cost.
In support of the Million Hearts initiative, Kermit Crawford, president of Pharmacy Health and Wellness Division at Walgreens, announced that the pharmacies will provide free blood pressure testing and consultation. They will also promote diabetes testing in November and heart health in February.
He encouraged people to take advantage of the knowledge of pharmacists, saying that Walgreens has enacted measures to ensure their pharmacists have ample time to spend with customers.
"We dedicate ourselves to preventing heart disease every day," said Nancy Brown, CEO of the AHA.
"The Affordable Care Act elevates the importance of clinical and population-based prevention, and moving cardiovascular disease prevention to the forefront is important," she said.
Brown said the Million Hearts initiative is a "bold new commitment and unprecedented collaboration among federal agencies, healthcare providers, and community organizations," which the AHA can support with its millions of volunteers, ample evidence-based science, and other resources.
She noted the AHA's own initiatives to help Americans reduce their sodium intake and make healthier lifestyle choices can be magnified hundreds of times by collaborating with the private and public partners in Million Hearts.
For its part, the YMCA will leverage its involvement in diabetes prevention to the Million Hearts campaign, noted Jonathan Lever, the organization's executive vice president for strategy and innovation.
"Those with diabetes are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke," Lever said.
Increasing physical activity and reducing weight are essential for preventing diabetes as well as many cardiovascular diseases, he said. And one of the main missions of the Y has been to promote healthy lifestyle choices in communities.
Lever noted that the YMCA is also involved in helping underserved neighborhoods by bringing in locally grown fruits and vegetables through farmers' markets, improving vending machine options, helping to make roads safer for bikes, and creating more smoke-free environments.
Walgreen's Crawford said that 40% of Walgreens pharmacies are in underserved neighborhoods. "These areas are often 'food deserts' and we try to make them into "food oases' by bringing in more fresh fruits and vegetables."
Overall, by leveraging the strengths of many federal, state and private partners to improve access to and quality of healthcare, the Million Hearts initiative will reach into every level of society, including schools, underserved populations, the Medicare population, and more, Frieden concluded.
"Improving prevention and care is the goal," Sebelius said. "We know the key steps needed to improve heart health, such as taking aspirin and making lifestyle choices that will improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels. With the partners we have here today, we are on our way to reducing one million heart attacks and strokes in the next five years."
From the American Heart Association:
