Team-Based Approach to Heart Disease Prevention Key in Identifying Missed Opportunities for Controlling Hypertension
Monday, 10 September 2012 00:00
MADISON, Wis., September 10, 2012
PCNA responds to CDC Vital Signs report with the early release of new patient education material on controlling blood pressure
The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) announces the early release of a new patient teaching tool for controlling high blood pressure in response to last Tuesday’s Vital Signs report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to this report, “nearly 90% of the 35.8 million adults with uncontrolled hypertension have a usual source of health care, have health insurance coverage, and receive health care in the previous year, all of which indicate potential missed opportunities by individuals, health care providers, and health care systems to improve hypertension control.”
“The report indicates a staggering number of U.S. adults with uncontrolled hypertension and an incredibly alarming number of U.S. adults missing the opportunity to treat hypertension,” states Lola A. Coke, PhD, ACNS-BC, RN-BC, FAHA, FPCNA, President of the PCNA Board of Directors and Assistant Professor and Clinical Nurse Specialist at Rush University College of Nursing, Chicago, Ill. “As indicated by the CDC, a team-based approach to manage and control hypertension is critical to reverse this trend. Nurses continue to be at the forefront of implementing successful team-based care strategies and leading prevention efforts in hospitals and clinics nationwide. PCNA is committed to supporting nurses so they may successfully rise to this challenge.”
In the last two months alone, over 130,000 patient education materials were ordered on PCNA’s website by their professional members. Today, PCNA adds its latest version of the “How Do You Measure Up?” blood pressure patient booklet to this library of materials. The 14-page booklet will help patients understand if their blood pressures are in the normal, high blood pressure, or at-risk for high blood pressure ranges and how they can work with their health care team to achieve normal blood pressure. The new version also includes a tear-out measuring tool for indicating blood pressure cuff size. PCNA members may order this tool in packs of 50 online at www.pcna.net/hcp.
“New, interactive patient education materials are crucial tools for implementing successful team-based approaches to health care,” states Nancy Houston Miller, RN, BSN, FAHA, FPCNA, member of the PCNA board of directors, member of the PCNA hypertension project committee and associate director of the Stanford Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. “The tools are designed to promote improved communication with patients, adherence to evidence-based guidelines, heart-healthy lifestyles, and medication adherence.”
Access the full CDC report
Learn more about PCNA patient education tools