Small (Smart) Town
Hypertension Reduction Program
Using Smart Technologies to Engage, Educate and Empower Citizens Toward Better Health
What is Hypertension,
and why should I care?
High Blood Pressure in the United States
- Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease, kidney failure and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States.1
- About 75 million American adults (32%) have high blood pressure—that’s 1 in every 3 adults.3
- About 1 in 3 American adults has prehypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal—but not yet in the high blood pressure range.3
- Only about half (54%)of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.2
- High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for more than 410,000 Americans in 2014—that’s more than 1,100 deaths each day.1
- High blood pressure costs the nation $48.6 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work.1
CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. “Controlling blood pressure is one of the most effective ways to keep people healthy.
Where is Hypertension in the US?
What does this mean for me, in my Small Town?
Hypertension in Your Town
- Everyone is a potential victim of High Blood Pressure
- But hypertension kills a greater number of African descendants than other global population groups
- Despite declining funds, Small Towns can empower citizens to thrive with lower HT risk through a program of engagement
- Fewer Heart Failures, Strokes, and Kidney Failures
- Allows aging residents to live in their homes longer
- Smart Technologies applied in Small Towns can enable health education and also participation in Global Research to help create better ways to reduce Hypertension globally
Purposes of a Small Town Program
- Reduce Hypertension (HT) in your community
- Use convenient and inexpensive Blood Pressure devices to inform Residents and Employees of their HT Risk
- Monthly or Annual measurements depending on your status
- Can be made available to citizens at Pharmacies, Grocery Stores, Churches, Community Centers, and even City Hall
- Based on knowledge, participants are empowered to adopt corrective actions, in diet, weight, exercise for better health
- Create a Smarter Hypertension Program for Small Cities
- Consider contributing data to the World Hypertension League’s global database at Harrisburg University
- Anonymous readings are combined globally to fight the disease, which is the leading cause of medical death and disability worldwide
- UN target is to reduce uncontrolled BP 25% globally by 2025
How it Will Work
- A Small Town Pilot in 2017 tested ability of non-medical staff to take accurate blood pressures (BPs)
- First, among the Mayor’s staff
- Then city Employees and Elected Officials who wished to opt in to this free program
- Once accurate BPs are known, create programs of education and incentives to reduce BP numbers to improve health outcomes in terms of reduced Stroke, Heart and Kidney failures
- Joint education programs with healthcare organizations such as Kaiser Permanente and the World Hypertension Action Group to scale program and track results
- Incentive programs to address medication availability and costs
- Added to the City’s web sites and/or Apps for heart healthy recipes
What This Means for You
According to the World Hypertension League:
- High Blood Pressure is the key risk factor for Stroke, Heart Failure and Kidney Failure world-wide
- Encourages a “heart-healthy” lifestyle to reduce risks
- Regular physical activity,
- Smoking cessation,
- Weight reduction and maintenance with dietary changes – salt is key
- Screen Small Town adults for hypertension
- For adults aged 18-39 years with normal blood pressure (< 130/85 mm Hg) without other risk factors, screen every 3 to 5 years.
- For adults aged ≥ 40 years and those at increased risk of high blood pressure, screen at least annually.
The Measurement Process
- With today’s automatic blood pressure devices, each measurement consists of 3 readings, with the first reading taken after 5 minutes of rest, and additional readings 1 minute apart. The machine averages the 3 readings to determine a very accurate blood pressure reading
- A Small Town Pilot begins with daily readings to establish procedures
- Goal is to show accurate readings can be taken with these machines, without trained medical people present
- Once accuracy is assured, then a wider program to start across the Small Town
- Communication of the program can be through neighborhood meetings, city newsletters, and through City web sites or Apps, if present
Prepared Food Items Have Grown!
Portion Growth over 50 years…
Even worse now!
Take Back Control!
Plan Your Meals to be Healthy
Typical Restaurant Steak Dinner
Lunch Done Right
Remaking Breakfast
The Easy Way to Get Portions Right
Bottom Line
- Our role: We are the “Designated Drivers” of the bodies that God has given to us. We can stay on the “highway to health” or drive ourselves into a lifelong healthcare ditch
- Your Small Town’s role: is to provide the information needed and the options to access better health choices
- Engage, through Dept of Citizen Engagement, neighborhood meetings, the City web site or App
- Educate, by providing you the HT information you need
- Empower, by providing you tools and options for you to use
- If you already have high Blood Pressure…..
- Keeping your blood pressure levels in a healthy range involves taking your medications, reducing sodium in your diet, getting daily physical activity, and quitting smoking
Let’s Start Today!
Hypertension Education Materials
- Simply reducing salt in our foods is a great way to start today
- During decent weather, try taking more walks—even short ones
Healthy Recipes to Try
- The food industry is killing us with oversized, highly processed foods that are convenient and taste good, but hurt us
- Preparing our own meals with whole foods might take a few minutes longer at first, but gives us long term paybacks
- Healthy foods are actually cheaper to buy than packaged foods
- Many healthy recipes are simple to make and taste great.
- Thousands of recipes on nutrition sites on line for you to try