May - Health Preventation Awareness Month

National High Blood Pressure Education Month

May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month and Stroke Awareness Month. It makes sense to observe both in the same month because when you control your blood pressure, you reduce your risk of stroke —the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Unfortunately, 1 in 3 U.S. adults—an estimated 68 million of us—have high blood pressure, also called hypertension. This “silent killer” can damage the heart, brain, and kidneys without a single symptom.

Right now, half of those Americans with high blood pressure still don’t have it adequately controlled. African Americans are at particular risk—often having more severe hypertension, and developing it at younger ages.

Each year, more than 795,000 Americans have a stroke and more than 130,000 people in the United States die every year after a stroke—an average of one stroke-related death every 4 minutes.

Together, the financial costs of high blood pressure and stroke are staggering: annual costs of hypertension are $156 billion, with medical costs accounting for nearly $131 billion and lost productivity from illness and premature death of about $25 billion a year. Annual stroke costs to the nation are more than a billion dollars a week.

Fortunately, there are some things in life you can control—and blood pressure is one.

Helping Americans with high blood pressure get it under control to reduce strokes and other forms of cardiovascular disease is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and through our national Million Hearts initiative, we are making a difference. Co-led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—and in collaboration with many other government and private partners—we aim to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.

Million Hearts is working to reduce high blood pressure with a one-two punch; the first, focusing health care professionals, health systems, insurers, employers, and individuals on the link between good blood pressure control and good health and, the second, encouraging all Americans to know their blood pressure, monitor it regularly, and talk with their doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or community health worker about how to keep it in the normal range. From diet and physical activity to medications, there are easy, effective and economical ways to measure, routinely monitor, and control blood pressure.

Million Hearts is supported by the many improvements to health care provided by the health care law, the Affordable Care Act, which now strengthens the prevention of stroke by ensuring that many adult patients receive preventive services, including blood pressure screenings, at no cost.

For information about how you can join the Million Hearts effort, visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/.

For information on women and heart disease, visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/ or http://womenshealth.gov/heartattack/.

For information on preventive services available with no cost-sharing, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/prevention.

Asthma Awareness Month

May is Asthma Awareness Month, a time for us to consider what we can do better, as individuals and as a nation, in managing one of the most common lifelong chronic diseases.

More than 25 million Americans have asthma, including 7 million children. Children with asthma missed more than 10 million days total of school in 2008. There are also financial costs. Medical expenses associated with asthma are estimated at $50 billion annually. Although asthma cannot be cured, it is critical to take the necessary steps to reduce asthma attacks. Successful management includes knowing the warning signs of an attack, avoiding things that may trigger an episode and following the advice of your health care provider.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is working to raise awareness about asthma and to provide tools to help families and communities get the information they need:

·         Having access to high-quality affordable health care is a must. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, the 7 million children who have asthma cannot be denied health coverage now by insurance companies on the basis of a pre-existing condition. In 2014, that fundamental protection will be afforded to adults with asthma as well.

·         We know that African-American children visit emergency departments for asthma care more often than Caucasian children, and that Latino children are less likely to see a doctor for routine office visits than non-Latino Caucasian children. While we’ve made progress in reducing disparities over the years, more needs to be done. That is why the health care law and Recovery Act investments in expanding the capacity of community health centers to care for the most vulnerable Americans regardless of their ability to pay are so important.

·         The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with communities and schools to develop the tools they need to make their environments healthier for children with asthma. Three Louisiana school districts, for example, have adopted indoor and outdoor air policies, such as requiring school buses to turn off their engines while idling. Rhode Island families have gotten help in learning how to manage their children’s asthma from the new Home Asthma Response Program, which identified potential participants during asthma-related emergency room visits.

·         The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program--coordinated by the National Institutes of Health--promotes improved asthma care and control through a focused outreach effort centered on written asthma action plans. These plans are a recommended but underutilized tool for managing asthma long-term and handling symptoms. These efforts include coordination with other federal agencies and key stakeholders and activities to promote resources and educational materials.

During National Asthma Awareness Month, join us in making the environment healthier for children and adults with asthma. Learn what you and your community can do to reduce the physical, social, and financial costs of asthma.

For more information, see http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/ and http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/naepp.

Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

As we commemorate Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we celebrate the significant medical and scientific contributions made by this diverse community. During this month, we also recognize that many Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders still encounter barriers to accessing health care due to poverty, insurance status, and lack of culturally appropriate health services.

At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we are committed to ensuring that all Americans achieve health equity by eliminating disparities and doing what we can to improve the health of all communities.

Through the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, an additional 2.5 million young adults, including 97,000 Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, have gained health coverage because they can stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26. Also, an estimated 2.7 million Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders with private insurance now have access to expanded preventive services with no cost-sharing.

In addition, the new HHS data collection standards under this law expand the “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” categories to include Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and “other Asian,” as well as Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, and “other Pacific Islander,” to better help us understand the diversity of the populations we serve.

Together, these initiatives provide an opportunity to make a difference in the everyday lives of all Americans, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, to ensure that all have a chance to reach their full potential for health.