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February 2017 is American Heart Month
By SCMA On 30/01/2017
Heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women. To prevent heart disease and increase awareness of its effects, Specialty Certified Medical Assistant – SCMA® is proudly supporting American Heart Month.
Cardiovascular diseases including coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and stroke collectively remain the leading cause of death in the world and the United States. Heart disease and stroke are still the leading two killers in the world; in the U.S., heart disease ranks first and stroke fifth.
The SCMA® has gathered materials and resources to assist medical assistants and other healthcare professionals who are interested in improving their knowledge while helping patients out through promoting healthy changes to lower risk of developing heart disease.
Consider These Statistics:
- The number of adults living with heart failure increased from about 5.7 million (2009-2012) to about 6.5 million (2011-2014), according to the American Heart Association's 2017 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update.
- Based on the latest statistics, the number of people diagnosed with heart failure, is projected to rise by 46 percent by 2030, resulting in more than 8 million people adults with heart failure.
- Cardiovascular diseases were the most common cause of death in the world as of 2013, claiming about 17.3 million lives.
- In the U.S., more than 1 in 3 adults (92.1 million adults) have cardiovascular diseases, accounting for 807,775 deaths in 2014.
- About 790,000 people in the US have heart attacks each year. Of those, about 114,000 will die. In the U.S., about 795,000 adults experienced a new or recurrent stroke, accounting for nearly 133,000 deaths in 2014.
- There were more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the U.S., nearly 90 percent of them fatal.
Million Hearts®, a national initiative with an ambitious goal of prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017, realizes the importance of talking to patients about Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP) monitoring.
Million Hearts supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services which co-lead the initiative on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It reaches out to clinicians and healthcare professionals, actively promoting the need for regular monitoring. SMBP is the regular measurement of blood pressure by the patient outside the clinical setting, either at home or elsewhere. SMBP requires the use of a home blood pressure measurement device by the patient to measure blood pressure at different points in time.
Monitoring combined with clinical support can improve access to care and quality of care for individuals with hypertension while making blood pressure control more convenient and accessible across the population. Clinical support includes regular one-on-one counseling, web-based or telephonic support tools, and educational classes.
References & More Information:
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke.
American Stroke Association
The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association dedicated to prevention, diagnosis and treatment to save lives from stroke — America's No. 4 killer and a leading cause of serious disability. The ASA funds scientific research, helps people better understand and avoid stroke, encourages government support, guides healthcare professionals and provides information to enhance the quality of life for stroke survivors. The AHA and ASA work hand-in-hand; what's good for the heart is good for the brain.
About Heart Disease
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Quit Smoking
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Heart Health and Stroke
Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
Heart and Vascular Diseases
National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
The Heart Truth Campaign
National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
Keep the Beat: Deliciously Health
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Heart Disease Fact Sheet - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
This fact sheet on women and heart disease includes information about risk factors, prevention, and treatment of heart disease.
Stroke Fact Sheet - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
This fact sheet answers questions about stroke, including information about warning signs, effects, and risk factors.
10 Year Heart Attack Risk Calculator
This downloadable spreadsheet is a companion tool to the 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk.
Keep the Beat: Delicious Heart-Healthy Latino Recipes (Spanish/English) [PDF - 2.82MB]
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Heart Attack: What is a Heart Attack?
National Institutes of Health, National Institute On Aging
High Blood Cholesterol: What is High Blood Cholesterol?
National Institutes of Health, National Institute On Aging
High Blood Pressure: What is High Blood Pressure?
National Institutes of Health, National Institute On Aging
Aspirin for Reducing Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke: Know the Facts
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
