Women's heart health

Heart Disease Prevention

Heart Disease Prevention

What You Can Do

Employers and Health Plans
Individuals

Prioritize addressing heart disease risk factors

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In October 2020, Surgeon General VADM Jerome M. Adams, M.D., M.P.H., issued a Call to Action urging Americans to recognize and address hypertension control as a national, public health priority. The Call to Action to Control Hypertension provides strategies for those on the frontlines of health care and public health to address this costly, dangerous and far too common chronic health condition. The focus on prioritizing heart health has grown amid this Call to Action and the CDC’s recommendation that employers should now provide coverage for automated home blood pressure monitors.

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Prioritize solutions that contribute to health equity

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According to a recent WTW report 72% of employers indicated they would promote DEI-related aspects of their benefit programs. But women’s heart health may not immediately be top of mind.

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Given the prevalence and impact of heart disease in women, organizations should evaluate how they can address heart health as a key component of women’s overall health and wellness and explore solutions to help close the gap in women’s heart health. Heart health is women’s health.

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Learn more about how digital health solutions can contribute to health equity.

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Tips to prevent heart disease

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One of the most effective things that women can do is track and manage their current health conditions, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers additional heart disease prevention tips:

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  • Know your risk factors.  
  • Recognize symptoms of a heart attack, and do not hesitate to call 9-1-1 if needed — research has found that women suffering a heart attack typically waited 37 minutes longer than men before calling an ambulance.
  • Perform regular physical activity, and maintain a healthy weight.  
  • Make heart-healthy food choices.
  • Be aware that daily use of aspirin is not right for everyone.  
  • Quit smoking.

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Heart disease treatments

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The Yale School of Medicine highlights four common, medically-approved recommendations options that have been shown to help women reduce their risk of developing or treating heart disease:

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  • Lifestyle changes, which includes following a heart-healthy healthy diet; starting a regular (and physician-approved) exercise routine; quitting smoking; reducing intake of salt, fat, added sugar, and alcohol.  
  • Prescription medication(s), which may lower blood pressure and/or high cholesterol, and reduce the risk of further complications. Women who have, are at risk of developing, blood clots may also be prescribed daily blood thinning medications.
  • Interventional or surgical procedures, which may be necessary if a woman has blockage in the arteries.  
  • Cardiac rehabilitation, which is a program that includes regular meetings with cardiologists, exercise physiologists, nutritionists, and other health professionals.

Share Your Story

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Have you or a loved one been impacted by a chronic heart condition? Help champion women’s heart health by sharing your story and raise awareness of heart disease in women, and encourage women to take control of their heart health.

Interested in seeing how a digital heart health program could help your members?

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Footnotes
  1. Reducing the Burden of Chronic Disease. Aspen Health Strategy Group. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AHSG-Chronic-Disease-Report-2019.pdf. Published January 2019. Accessed May 23, 2022.
  2. Facts About Hypertension. CDC Web site. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm. Published September 27, 2021. Accessed May 23, 2022.
  3. Ahmed FB, Anderson RN. The Leading Causes of Death in the US for 2020. JAMA. 2021;325(18):1829-1830. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2778234. Accessed May 23, 2022.
  4. This includes heart disease and stroke, which are both related to heart health. Source: Schmidt H. Top 10 Most Expensive Chronic Diseases for Healthcare Payers. HealthPayerIntelligence. February 22, 2022. https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/top-10-most-expensive-chronic-diseases-for-healthcare-payers. Accessed May 23, 2022.
  5. Figure calculated as part of Validation Institute’s analysis of Hello Heart cost savings. Source: Validation Institute. 2021 Validation Report (Valid Through October 2022). https://validationinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Hello_Heart-Savings-2021-Final.pdf. Published October 2021. Accessed May 23, 2022. (This analysis was commissioned by Hello Heart, which provided a summary report of self-funded employer client medical claims data for 203 Hello Heart users and 200 non-users from 2017-2020. Findings have not been subjected to peer review.)
  6. Based on data on file at Hello Heart.
  7. Sources: (1) Gazit T, Gutman M, Beatty AL. Assessment of Hypertension Control Among Adults Participating in a Mobile Technology Blood Pressure Self-management Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2127008, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27008. Accessed May 23, 2022. (Some study authors are employed by Hello Heart. Because of the observational nature of the study, causal conclusions cannot be made. See additional important study limitations in the publication. This study showed that 108 participants with baseline blood pressure over 140/90 who had been enrolled in the program for 3 years and had application activity during weeks 148-163 were able to reduce their blood pressure by 21 mmHg using the Hello Heart program.) (2) Livongo Health, Inc. Form S-1 Registration Statement. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1639225/000119312519185159/d731249ds1.htm. Published June 28, 2019. Accessed May 23, 2022. (In a pilot study that lasted six weeks, individuals starting with a blood pressure of greater than 140/90 mmHg, on average, had a 10 mmHG reduction.) NOTE: This comparison is not based on a head-to-head study, and the difference in results may be due in part to different study protocols.
  8. Validation Institute. 2021 Validation Report (Valid Through October 2022). https://validationinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Hello_Heart-Savings-2021-Final.pdf. Published October 2021. Accessed May 23, 2022. (This analysis was commissioned by Hello Heart, which provided a summary report of self-funded employer client medical claims data for 203 Hello Heart users and 200 non-users from 2017-2020. Findings have not been subjected to peer review.)
  9. Gazit T, Gutman M, Beatty AL. Assessment of Hypertension Control Among Adults Participating in a Mobile Technology Blood Pressure Self-management Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2127008, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27008. Accessed May 23, 2022. (Some study authors are employed by Hello Heart. Because of the observational nature of the study, causal conclusions cannot be made. See additional important study limitations in the publication.)
  10. Kaplan AL, Cohen ER, Zimlichman E. Improving patient engagement in self-measured blood pressure monitoring using a mobile health technology. Health Inf Sci Syst. 2017; 5 (4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13755-017-0026-9. Accessed May 23, 2022. (Because of the observational nature of the study, causal conclusions cannot be made. There were 783 participants with baseline systolic blood pressure ≥ 140. See additional important study limitations in the publication.)