Heart attacks and strokes are catastrophic, life-changing, and all too common—yet most are preventable. Alarmingly, more than 800,000 of these events happened to adults ages 35–64 in 2016. Many opportunities to spot and treat risk factors, such as identifying people with undiagnosed high blood pressure and improving physical activity, are missed every day.
Visit cdc.gov/vitalsigns to read and share the latest Vital Signs report, which provides important details about people at risk, including:
- Americans ages 35–64 are less likely to use aspirin or statins when indicated, and only about half of them have their blood pressure under control.
- Blacks/African Americans are more likely than whites to develop high blood pressure—especially at earlier ages—and are less likely to have it under control.
- People with mental health and/or substance use disorders use tobacco more frequently.
- People who have already had one heart attack or stroke are at high risk for a second.
Million Hearts® is a national initiative with a network of partners focused on preventing 1 million heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events by 2022. By supporting actions to take small daily steps at the personal, community, and system levels, people and professionals can have a major impact in reducing rates of heart attack and stroke.
We at East Jordan Family Health Center are proud to partner with Million Hearts® to help prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2022. Learn more about Million Hearts® 2022 by visiting http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/external icon.
