Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program

Mission

The Rhode Island Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) Program, funded by the CDC, develops plans and works with partners to promote policy and system changes. Priority areas include increasing control of high blood pressure (HBP) and high blood cholesterol (HBC), increasing knowledge of signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke, improving emergency response and the heart disease and stroke quality health care, and eliminating health disparities. In 2008, the HDSP Program applied for and received additional three year funding for a Cardiovascular Optional Program. The proposal was based on replicating the success in using the RI Chronic Care Collaborative (RICCC) to create system change in healthcare settings by integrating cardiovascular care into the existing RICCC.

2010 Accomplishments and Milestones

• Rhode Island has met Healthy People 2010 objectives for age-adjusted deaths from stroke.
• Funded an additional six, totaling ten Rhode Island Chronic Care Collaborative (RICCC) Health Centers and one Hospital Clinic to improve the quality of cardiovascular care for over 5,500 patients.
• Received applications from eight (8) Rhode Island hospitals for state designation as a Primary Stroke Center, per the 2009, Rhode Island Stroke Prevention and Treatment Act.
• South Kingstown is the third community of 39 in the state to be designated as a Rhode Island HeartSafe Community.
• Certification of 39 Cardiovascular Diabetes Outpatient Educators to provide one-to-one, group visits and TEAMWorks group visits for patients with cardiovascular risk.
• Conducted the first integrated Rhode Island Heart Disease, Stroke and Diabetes Summit with an attendance of 100.

Funding

In 2007, the Rhode Island Department of Health received funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program. The Department also received CDC optional funding to implement a demonstration public health project. This project aims to improve the management of high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol and the quality of care in healthcare settings by enhancing the existing Rhode Island Chronic Care Collaboration in nine community-based health centers.

What We Do

We are working to achieve national heart disease and stroke prevention program goals by launching and sustaining a statewide, coordinated effort to prevent and control heart disease and stroke. We are funded to:

1. Facilitate collaboration among public and private sector partners.
2. Define the burden of heart disease and stroke and assess existing population-based strategies for primary and secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke within the state.
3. Develop and update a comprehensive state plan for heart disease and stroke prevention, with emphasis on heart-healthy policy development, physical and social environmental change, and the elimination of disparities based on geography, gender, race or ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
4. Identify culturally appropriate approaches to promote heart disease and stroke prevention among racial, ethnic, and other priority populations.
5. Use population-based public health strategies to increase public awareness of the urgency of heart disease and stroke, their signs and symptoms, and the need to call 911.

Key Focus Areas

Rhode Island Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program priorities include efforts to:

1. Increase control of high blood pressure.
2. Increase control of high blood cholesterol.
3. Increase knowledge of signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke.
4. Improve emergency response.
5. Improve the quality of heart disease and stroke care.
6. Eliminate health disparities.

ABCS

All CDC-funded state heart disease and stroke prevention programs are expected to use a majority of resources and effort to address the "ABCS" of heart disease and stroke prevention, with the main focus on preventing and controlling high blood pressure:

• 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 Cessation: Increase the number of smokers counseled to quit and referred to quit lines; increase availability of no or low-cost cessation products.
• Sodium: reducing sodium intake through sodium procurement policies.

Partnerships

The Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program realizes the importance of working with internal and external partners to further our goals. The Stroke Task Force and the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Steering Committee allow us to leverage our efforts.