Community-based approaches to prevention and management of hypertension and cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Community hypertension (HTN) outreach seeks to improve public health by identifying HTN and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. In the 1980s, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) funded multiple positive community studies. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program addresses CVD risks. In 1978, in Baltimore, MD, the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), organized barbershops and churches as HTN control centers, as in New Orleans, LA, since 1993, the Healthy Heart Community Prevention Project (HHCPP). Also, the NHLBI Community Health Workers and Promotores de Salud are beneficial. The American Society of Hypertension (ASH) Hypertension Community Outreach program provides free HTN and CVD screenings, digital BP monitors, multilingual and literacy-appropriate information, and videos. Contemporary major federal programs, such as the Million Hearts Initiative, are ongoing. Overall, the evidence-based Logic Model should enhance planning, implementation, and dissemination.