About the Heart Disease and Stroke Program

About the Heart Disease and Stroke Program Previous Page

The Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program enhances state capacity to plan, implement, track, and sustain population-based interventions to address heart disease, stroke, and related risk factors. Program efforts are focused on population-based policy and systems change strategies to impact the "ABCS" of heart disease and stroke prevention; promoting cardiovascular health in community, health care, and worksite settings.

ABCS of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

• Aspirin: Increase low-dose aspirin therapy according to recognized guidelines.
• Blood pressure: Prevent and control high blood pressure; reduce sodium intake.
• Cholesterol: Prevent and control high cholesterol.
• Smoking: Increase the number of smokers counseled to quit and referred to quit lines by health care workers; increase availability of no or low-cost cessation products; and collaborate with efforts to increase the percentage of the population protected by smoke-free air laws.

Program Activities

To support these initiatives, the HDSP Project partners with a wide variety of organizations, including local health departments, hospitals, community health centers, public and private healthcare and health-related agencies, academic institutions, professional organizations, businesses, schools and other community-based organizations. The HDSP Project provides technical assistance, resources, and leadership in pursuit of the common interest to reduce and prevent morbidity and mortality of all Virginians from heart disease and stroke. Additional activities the program is currently engaged in include:

• Coordination and Collaboration in Communities
• Supporting and promoting Million Hearts^TM targeting the ABCS of heart disease and stroke prevention through coordination and collaboration with partners and stakeholders.
• Establishing regional community coordinators to identify and organize activities regionally to share best practices, leverage resources, avoid duplication, and achieve greater reach and impact of collaborative activities.
• Quality Improvement in Healthcare Systems
• Promoting quality blood pressure measurement techniques and guideline adherence through dissemination of the Blood Pressure Measurement Specialist program.
• Providing quality improvement techniques and ongoing technical assistance to federally qualified health centers to increase quality of care for clients at risk for heart disease as they work towards patient centered medical home model certification.
• Partnering with the American Heart Association to offer the quality improvement Get with the Guidelines - Stroke tool to health systems in pursuit of Primary Stroke Center certification.
• Encouraging team based care through the use and expansion of care by pharmacists to increase blood pressure control.
• Worksite Wellness
• Organizing partners and stakeholders to identify ways to promote and implement evidence based interventions in worksites to prevent heart disease and stroke.