Start with Family
First, take a look at your relatives and talk to them about your family history. This sheet breaks down the risks that may run in the family.
Your Health is in Your Hands
High blood pressure is a leading cause and controllable risk factor for stroke and heart disease. It’s important to know your numbers and work with a healthcare professional to control levels and manage risks. Using data from 2017 to 2020, 122.4 million (46.7%) US adults had hypertension. The good news – hypertension is controllable, and with proper management, you can lower your risks.
A Healthy Lifestyle for a Healthy Heart
You can make lifestyle changes to help manage your blood pressure, including regular physical activity, a healthy diet, reducing sodium intake, managing stress, and more. Read about the American Heart Association’s Life Essential 8 to see how you can take control of your blood pressure and live a better quality of life.
4 Easy Steps
You can commit to a plan to Get Down With Your Blood Pressure in four easy steps – Get It, Slip It, Cuff It, Check It. Your Health Is in Your Hands. The American Heart Association’s National Hypertension Control Initiative launched the Get Down With Your Blood Pressure campaign as a part of a multi-layered and community-focused approach to fostering healthier communities. Self-measuring and monitoring your blood pressure is one way to take control of your health. Learn how to monitor your blood pressure at home.
Asian American Heritage Month
It is more important than ever for communities to be informed about high blood pressure. According to the CDC, high blood pressure is more common in non-Hispanic Asian adults (46%) than Hispanic adults (39%), but lower than other ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic Black adults (56%) and non-Hispanic white adults (48%). The National Hypertension Control Initiative wants to improve heart health outcomes for everyone and help everyone get their high blood pressure numbers down, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnicity.
High blood pressure is called the ‘silent killer’ because there are rarely any symptoms. Many people do not know if they have high blood pressure. Nearly half of all adults in the United States (46.7%, or 122.4 million) have hypertension, but only about 1 in 4 adults (24%) with hypertension have their condition under control.
In addition to properly monitoring blood pressure, maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, eating healthfully, and reducing or eliminating alcohol and tobacco will help with blood pressure control. However, if you do develop high blood pressure, working with a healthcare professional on a plan to manage it can help you to be healthy.
The best way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have it measured at least once per year by a healthcare professional, monitor it at home with a validated monitor as recommended by your health care professional, and discuss the numbers with your healthcare team.
Progress Story In Self-Measured Blood Pressure Program
Asian Human Services Family Health Center’s SMBP Program Serves the AAPI Community
According to the CDC, 46% of non-Hispanic Asian Americans have hypertension. One federally qualified community health center in the Chicago metro area is helping to improve this statistic for AAPI patients, delivering culturally competent health care, including the NHCI’s self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) program.
“Monitoring blood pressure can become less of a priority when compared to daily life struggles. With this in mind, we designed an SMBP Program that provides our patients, and us, with the opportunity to address hypertension from a culturally safe, evidenced-based, and empathetic standpoint,” says Stephanie Celis, Community Health Educator for the SMBP Program at AHS in the Chicago metro area. “Working mostly with uninsured and underinsured populations at AHS, we are intentional about our methods and strategies when addressing hypertension, especially because these communities oftentimes have less access to quality health care. Being that 70% of patients enrolled in our program are from the Asian American community. We take great pride in knowing that patients entering in the program are given the necessary tools and education to make the best health decisions for themselves, and their families,” says Celis.
National Stroke Awareness Month
Each year, approximately 800,000 people in the U.S. suffer a stroke. Even though some people are at higher risk for stroke, like stroke survivors and people with unmanaged AFib or high blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure raises the risk for heart disease and stroke, which are the leading causes of death in the United States. Leading risk factors for heart disease and stroke are high blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, obesity, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.
Stroke occurs when a blood vessel bringing blood and oxygen to the brain gets blocked by a clot or ruptures. When this happens, brain cells don’t get the blood and oxygen that they need to survive. This causes nerve cells to stop working and die within minutes. Then, the part of the body they control are affected. The effects of stroke may be permanent depending on how many cells die, where they are in the brain, and other factors. Strokes can cause weakness (paralysis), affect language and vision, and cause other problems.
Let’s Talk About the Warning Signs of a Stroke
- Recognizing the stroke warning signs and calling 911 immediately may make the difference between a strong recovery or long-term disability; survival or death. Become a F.A.S.T. stroke hero to help save lives and spread awareness.
- Learn how to spot a stroke F.A.S.T. If you see Face drooping, Arm weakness or Speech difficulty, it’s Time to call 911. Learn more at Stroke.org/StrokeMonth.
- You can help save a life. Call 911 if you see these signs. Your health – and someone else’s – is in your hands.
- Women are at a higher risk of stroke. Read about the factors and get out of the danger zone when it comes to your risk of having a stroke.
- People who have had a stroke are at higher risk of having another one. Prevent another stroke by talking to your doctor about managing your stroke risk factors.
- Here are more resources for stroke patients. View .pdf.
- Monitor your blood pressure at home.
Read on to find more resources to take control of high blood pressure including finding a community health center near you, starting a conversation with a healthcare professional, and opening a dialogue about the benefits of good heart health.
Your Health Is In Your Hands
This brief video shows you how to measure your blood pressure at home
Find more resources and information here including a ton of resources, starting with what blood pressure is, to why it is important to have a plan.
Talk to Your Healthcare Professional
Talk with a healthcare professional to reach your blood pressure goal. If you don’t have a healthcare team and need affordable care, a community health center might be an option for you. This tool will help you find the one closest to you.
