Click here for NJ Preventive Cardiology practice brochure

 

"My personal and professional journey to prevention took longer than my 3-year cardiology fellowship more than 25 years ago, but it changed the way I practice cardiology. Prevention is the missing component of cardiac care."  Rolando L. deGoma, MD Member Spotlight National Lipid Association, Lipid Spin Winter Issue 2010

 

Moving Science into Coverage

Heart attack and stroke: two sides of the same coin

 

The CDC's Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention has revised its goals and strategies in compliance with the new Health Care Reform Law - "We bring a sense of urgency to the prevention of heart disease and stroke and offer the means to create a positive change." Click here for more.

 

 At the National Level

 

 

At the State Level

 

Health Care Reform Law has placed a sense of real urgency in the development and implementation of effective heart disease and stroke prevention nationally and at the state level. Failure is not an option, not this time.  If public policy makers, physicians, hospitals, employers, insurers and patients become stakeholders, they will work together and  this re-energized program can be successful.

 

Jersey Preventive Cardiology and Cholesterol Clinic is actively engaging state agencies to move forward the evidence-based heart disease and stroke prevention mandates of the new law to benefit employees and employers in New Jersey.

     Mary                                           Jackie & Joe                                 Peter with son

What do Mary, Jackie, Joe and Peter have in common?

They are all New Jerseyans who have no symptoms of heart disease or stroke and yet they all have the same high risk of suffering from both. Their risk, in the next 10 years, is over 20% (greater than 1 in 5) for cardiac death, heart attack and stroke. If the likelihood of all cardiovascular events is included such as angina, stent, health bypass surgery, PAD and TIA, then their 10 year risk goes even higher. This is the same high degree of risk as those who already had a heart attack or stroke. Evidence-based preventive therapies can reduce their risk by as much as half and in some cases even more, over a period of 3 to 5 years. The result is better health and quality of life, not just longevity, and lower healthcare cost.

 

Cardiovascular healthcare resources are among the most expensive - cardiac hospitalizations, cardiac procedures, testing, stents, devices, etc. They are major contributors to the escalating healthcare cost. But heart attacks and strokes are largely preventable. High risk patients who are not receiving optimal preventive therapies regularly consume most of these expensive resources. Optimal evidence-based therapies alter the normal progressive coarse of atherosclerotic disease, improve patient outcomes and at the same time, reduce the excessive consumption of expensive healthcare resources. (How Effective is Evidenced-based Medical Therapy in Preventing Heart Attack and Stroke - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zovIueGYC_U)

 

State Program: New Jersey Capacity Building Copied and pasted from http://www.cdc.gov/DHDSP/state_program/nj.htm The New Jersey Department of Public Health began receiving funds from CDC in 2008 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention (HDSP) program. Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke More than 1 out of 4 deaths in New Jersey are due to heart disease. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009).   19,548 New Jerseyites died from heart disease in 2006 (27.8 percent of total deaths in New Jersey). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)   3,468 New Jerseyites died from a stroke in 2006 (4.9 percent of total deaths in New Jersey). (National Vital Statistics Report, 2009.)   According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in New Jersey reported the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke—   28.2% had high blood pressure 38.6% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol 9.2% had diabetes 17.1% were current smokers 62.3% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0) 51.9% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days 72.5% ate fruit and vegetables less than 5 times a day Key Responsibilities Facilitate collaboration among public and private sector partners, such as managed care organizations, health insurers, federally funded health centers, businesses, priority population organizations, and emergency response agencies.   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.   Develop and update a comprehensive state plan for heart disease and stroke prevention with emphasis on heart-healthy policies development, physical and social environments change, and disparities elimination (e.g., based on geography, gender, race or ethnicity, or socioeconomic status).   Identify culturally appropriate approaches to promote heart disease and stroke prevention among racial, ethnic, and other priority populations.   Use population-based public health strategies to increase public awareness of the heart disease and stroke urgency, the signs and symptoms of heart disease and stroke, and the need to call 9–1–1. State Highlights The New Jersey Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) program coordinates a state-level chronic disease steering committee with programs specifically involved in addressing the six NHDSP program priority areas as well as related risk factors. This integration effort involves the following New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services programs: Tobacco Cessation; Maternal Child Health; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS); Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention; Diabetes Prevention and Control; Cancer Control; Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Asthma Prevention and Control; Office of Aging Cancer Education and Early Detection, Early Intervention, and Screening; Emergency Medical Services Office of Primary Care; Office of Nutrition and Fitness; Office of Health Care Quality and Assessment; Office of Local Health; and Certificate of Need. The first product of this steering committee will be a statewide chronic disease strategic plan.   The New Jersey Chronic Disease Council was developed in response to a need in the state for a more integrative approach to chronic disease. The Council consists of members from health care, government agencies, professional organizations, and minority health groups. The council is currently developing the State Chronic Disease Plan.   The New Jersey HDSP program, together with their partners, developed an evidenced based worksite intervention to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol in worksite employees. This worksite project was implemented in May 2009 and is currently ongoing. Baseline data of participants have been collected at the start of the intervention and these participants are being followed over length of the intervention.