Million Hearts Collaboration – January 2015 Messaging Campaign
Theme: Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring Plus Clinical Support – Start the New Year Right
This month’s message provides information on resources available to promote the self-measured blood
pressure monitoring. Starting the New Year right includes establishing regular routines to help maintain
a healthier heart. Controlling high blood pressure through self-measured blood pressure monitoring plus
clinical support can empower persons to take charge of their health.
If you have any activities that promote self-measured blood pressure monitoring plus clinical support,
please let us know.
This document is intended to ensure consistent messaging among partners and it includes:
Alignment with Priorities of the Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke: TenYear Update:............................................................................................................................................. 1
Key Points: ................................................................................................................................................ 1
Email Newsletter Article: ......................................................................................................................... 2
Additional Resources for Patients, Providers, and Health Professionals: .............................................. 3
Million Hearts® Success Stories – Strategies for Achieving Million Hearts® Goals..............................4
Social Media Resources ............................................................................................................................ 4
Alignment with Priorities of the Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke: TenYear Update:
 Strategic Leadership, Partnership & Organization
Focus – public health – healthcare collaboration and integration
Integrate public health and health care into a public health system effective in supporting
community-level prevention policies and programs, e.g. the Million Hearts Initiative.
 Taking Action
Focus – cardiovascular health and health equity
Develop, advocate, and implement policies, programs, and practices aimed to improve the
nation’s cardiovascular health in terms of the Healthy People 2020 objectives and AHA metrics –
addressing tobacco use, overweight/obesity, physical activity, healthy diet (including reduction
in sodium and artificial trans-fat intake), blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting plasma
glucose); and ensure that all such actions reach everyone, especially those most vulnerable due
to unfavorable social and environmental conditions.
Key Points:
 High blood pressure, also known as hypertension (HTN), is a major risk factor for heart disease,
stroke, and kidney disease. It affects nearly one-third of adults aged 18 or older living in the U.S.
That’s 67 million Americans.
 Clinicians, public health practitioners, health care systems, and individuals can improve blood
pressure control and health outcomes for patients with high blood pressure.
 Self-Measured Blood Pressuring (SMBP) monitoring is one strategy to improve blood pressure
control and health outcomes. SMBP is defined as the regular measurement of blood pressure by
the patient outside the clinical setting, either at home or elsewhere. It is sometimes known as
“home blood pressure monitoring.”
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Additional support for blood pressure control includes regular one-on-one counseling, Webbased or telephonic support tools, and educational classes.
Email Newsletter Article:
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attacks and stroke. Many people have high blood
pressure, also called HBP or hypertension, for years without knowing it. This is because, most of the
time, there are no symptoms. This is a big problem because when high blood pressure goes untreated, it
damages arteries and vital organs throughout the body. That's why high blood pressure is often called
the "silent killer." Do your constituents know that: (facts from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention)?
 Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of
death in the United States.
 67 million American adults (31%) have high blood pressure—that’s 1 in every 3 adults.
 About 1 in 3 American adults has prehypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than
normal—but not yet in the high blood pressure range.
 Only about half (47%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.
 High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for more than 348,000
Americans in 2009—that's nearly 1,000 deaths each day.
 High blood pressure costs the nation $47.5 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health
care services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work.
Keeping blood pressure levels in a healthy range usually involves taking medications, reducing
sodium in the diet, getting daily physical activity, and quitting smoking.
Million Hearts® released a Million Hearts® Action guide entitled Self Measured Blood Pressure
Monitoring: Action Steps for Public Health Practitioners. This document provides action steps for public
health practitioners to facilitate the implementation of SMBP plus additional support in five key areas:
understanding the environment, working with payers and purchasers, working with health care
providers, spreading the word to the public, and monitoring/assessment of SMBP plus additional
support implementation.
The American Heart Association provides the following information on home blood pressure monitoring:
 Home Monitoring & Recording
Because blood pressure can fluctuate, home monitoring and recording of blood pressure
readings can provide a healthcare provider with valuable information to determine whether a
person really has high blood pressure and, if so, whether the treatment plan is working.

Choosing a Monitor
The American Heart Association recommends an automatic, cuff-style, bicep (upper-arm)
monitor. Discover our recommendations for selecting an accurate blood pressure monitor to
suit a person’s needs.

How to Measure
Accurate home recording can help persons in their partnership with their healthcare providers.
Learn and follow these simple steps for taking accurate home measurements.

Instructional Video
Watch this video demonstrating accurate home monitoring to help persons get started tracking
their numbers correctly.
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Additional Resources for Patients, Providers, and Health Professionals:
American College of Cardiology (ACC)
The ACC has several hypertension resources on their CardioSmart patient-centered site, including a BP
tracker. The URL is https://www.cardiosmart.org/Heart-Conditions/High-Blood-Pressure/Take-Chargeof-Lowering-Your-High-Blood-Pressure.
American Heart Association
Heart360® is an easy-to-use tool which helps you understand and track the factors that affect your heart
health - including blood pressure, physical activity, cholesterol, glucose, weight and medications.
Heart360® safely and securely stores your information in Microsoft® HealthVault™. Sign up today to
manage your heart health!
High Blood Pressure Resources for Professionals
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) - ASTHO has announced that six states will
receive funding and support to focus on hypertension identification, control, and improvement in their
states as part of the Million Hearts national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by
2017. The recipients are Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, and Virginia. This is the
second group of states that ASTHO, in partnership with CDC, will support in utilizing a quality
improvement process to partner across sectors to implement best practices and evidence-based policies
to identify, control, and improve blood pressure. Success stories are being captured so stayed tune to
the ASTHO website - http://astho.org/Million-Hearts/State-Learning-Collaborative-to-Improve-BloodPressure-Control/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Million Hearts® has created hypertension control resources
that are available for your organization to share with patients, providers, and community members. The
following handout has links to those materials.
9-CHA_HTN_Resour
ces FINAL.docx
National Association on Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) – NACDD has SMBP resources on their
Domain 3 webpage: http://www.nacdd1305.org/resources.html, under tools.
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
NACCHO has produced a webinar series that helps local health departments improve their awareness
and understanding of practice-based local health department programs that address cardiovascular
health and local efforts to implement the Million Hearts® initiative in cardiovascular disease prevention.
Webinar topics have included the ABCs, local strategies for improved blood pressure control, and
chronic disease self-management programs
 Million Hearts: State/Local Practice-Based Successes in Addressing Cardiovascular Health
through Chronic Disease Self-Management
 Million Hearts®: Making the Case for Coordinated Community Health Homes
 Marketing of Chronic Disease & Diabetes Self-Management/Prevention Programs
 Controlling High Blood Pressure: A Public Health Imperative
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District of Columbia's Department of Health Million Hearts Learning Collaborative Project
Activities
National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (National Forum) – The National Forum
recently created the Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke – Ten-Year Update.
Seven priorities are featured in the plan and include:
 Effective communication – Focus on prevention and public health
 Strategic leadership, partnership and organization – Focus on public health-healthcare
collaboration and integration
 Taking action – Focus on cardiovascular health & health equity
 Building capacity – Focus on prevention workforce
 Evaluating impact – Focus on monitoring cardiovascular health
 Advancing policy – Focus on research on critical questions to advance policy and practice
 Engaging in regional and global collaboration – Focus on initiatives linking CVD and NCD
prevention
“Linking Patient Data from Home/Community to Clinical practice and How to Sustain Work Around
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring”, a 20 minute podcast held by the National Forum and the
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), discusses the role of home blood
pressure monitoring and can be found at http://nationalforum.org/learningsession2
Million Hearts® Success Stories – Strategies for Achieving Million Hearts® Goals
Reaching the national goal of preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017 requires is more
effectively achieved through the use of best practices and evidence-based interventions. Stories of
success from private- and public-based practitioners conducting programs and implementing policies
can assist others in reviewing, selecting and adapting interventions that will be successful for them.

American Heart Association – Seattle Division – The included success story comes from the
American Heart Association – Seattle Division and describes the BetterU Challenge - a 12-week
program to help women live a more heart-healthy life. Overall, participants lowered their blood
pressure, reduced sodium intake, increased physical activity and ate more fruits and vegetables.
MH_BetterU MH Success Story 12.2014.pdf
Social Media Resources
 AHA Twitter
 AHA Facebook
 CDC Twitter
 CDC Facebook
 Million Hearts Twitter
 Million Hearts Facebook
Hashtags
You’re in control of your #bloodpressure. Take charge today: http://go.usa.gov/YRMG
Happy #NewYear! Make it your 2015 #resolution to prevent attack and stroke by making control
YOUR goal. http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/abouthds/risk-factors.html …
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Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: Action Steps for Clinicians
http://ow.ly/GxOwT #hearthealth @MillionHeartsUS
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