heart disease in Vermont
Heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the second leading cause of death in Vermont. Almost half of Americans and over half of Vermonters have at least one of the key risk factors for CVD:
From 70 to 80 Percent:
The Hypertension Management Toolkit
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High blood cholesterol
• Smoking
Other health conditions and behaviors that can lead to CVD are:
• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity
• Poor diet
• Physical inactivity
• Excessive alcohol use
For a complete look at CVD in Vermont, including prevalence, geographic distribution, hospitalization trends, mortality, co-morbidities, chronic disease risk factors, and more: Cardiovascular Disease Data Pages.
information for health care providers
There are many different tools and resources you can use to address CVD risk factors in your patient population. As you know, the preventable risk factors for CVD are:
Risk factors that can be changed:
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Diabetes and prediabetes
- Smoking
- Being overweight or obese
- Being physically inactive
- Unhealthy diet
Vermont Hypertension Toolkit
This comprehensive resource was created by the Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Blueprint for Health, One Care Vermont, University of Vermont Medical Center and the New England Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization in 2017. It can be used by providers and clinical professionals to identify and manage hypertension in patient populations.
Million Hearts is a great resource for health care providers and other professionals who want to address the preventable risk factors and better identify and manage CVD in their patient populations.
- The Million Hearts undiagnosed Hypertension video is a useful resource to learn about identifying patients with hypertension who have not been diagnosed.
- Hiding in Plain Sight is a JAMA article on Undiagnosed Hypertension (JAMA. 2014;312(19):1973-1974. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.15388 Study: Underdiagnosis of Hypertension using electronic health records (Am J Hypertens. 2012 Jan; 25(1): 97–102.)
The links below provide information on the following subjects:
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Heart Disease website: fact sheets, data and statistics, maps, reports, guidelines and recommendations, training resources
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) study on intensive blood pressure management
- Hypertension Change Package
- Women and Heart Disease
- You First (formerly Ladies First) - Providers