Source: morningjournal.com
The American Heart Association and Mercy Health are helping Lorain County residents take ownership of their cardiovascular health through hypertension management.
To kick-off the four-month long program, Mercy Health Lorain provided blood pressure screenings Jan. 15 for the staff at Lorain County Community College, at 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria.
“We’ve partnered with the American Heart Association to help folks by recording and monitoring blood pressure,” said Beth Bremke, a registered nurse and on-site coordinator/educator Mercy Occupational Health. “We will be back over the course of the four months.”
The screenings were held in the second floor of the Spitzer Conference Center.
The program, Check. Change. Control., empowers participants to learn about, monitor and manage blood pressure through a combination of resources.
According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major and modifiable risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
“Heart disease remains a leading cause of death in this country and the Check. Change. Control. program helps empower residents to take charge of their heart health,” said Edwin Oley, president of Mercy Health – Lorain. “Mercy Health is proud to be partnering with the American Heart Association to help build a healthier community one heart at a time.”
In a pilot program of Check. Change. Control., implemented by Mercy Health in Cincinnati at Fifth Third Bank, there were 874 participants in the program and 55 percent of them had a first reading fall into the “hypertension” category.
Since that initial reading, 48 percent of participants saw an improvement in either their systolic or diastolic reading, the release said.
The American Heart Association and Mercy Health are hoping to see the same positive results with LCCC employees.
“No single risk factor has more impact on the nation’s death rates from cardiovascular disease than blood pressure,” said Jennifer Labadie, interim executive director of the American Heart Association in Cleveland. “Here in the Lorain area, heart disease and stroke are claiming the lives of nearly 800 people every year.
“Controlling high blood pressure is a key component to improving cardiovascular health and adding quality, healthy years to people’s lives. We are grateful to both Mercy Health and AVI for showing their commitment to the health and well-being of the community with the launch of this program.”