Preventing 1 Million Heart Attacks and Strokes

Middle-aged adults are being hard hit

Overview

Heart attacks and strokes can be catastrophic, life-changing events that are all too common. Heart disease and stroke are preventable, yet they remain leading causes of death, disability, and healthcare spending in the US. Alarmingly, many of these events happen to adults ages 35-64—over 800,000 in 2016. Million Hearts® is a national initiative with a network of partners focused on preventing one million heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events by 2022. Coordinated actions by public health and healthcare professionals, communities, and healthcare systems can and will keep people healthy, optimize care, and improve outcomes within priority populations.

Healthcare professionals and systems can:

Focus on the ABCS of heart health: Aspirin use when appropriate, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management, and Smoking cessation.
Take a team approach—use technology, standard processes, and the skills of everyone in the healthcare system to find and treat those at risk for heart disease and stroke.
Make sure people who have had a heart attack or stroke get the care they need to recover well and reduce their risk of another event.
Promote physical activity and healthy eating among their patients and employees.

* Deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits due to heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular conditions like heart failure that could be prevented if Million Hearts 2022 actions are taken.