Professional Advancement

Team Up. Pressure
Down. More than 36 million Americans don't have their blood pressure
under control. You can help them. Let's team up--collaboration can save
lives. Visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michelle Fritts
202.429.7558; mfritts@aphanet.org
September 5, 2012

American Pharmacists Association Teams Up with Million Hearts to Bring Americans’ Blood Pressure Down, Save Lives

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and the APhA Foundation today announced they have joined the new pharmacy-based hypertension program Team Up. Pressure Down.^TM to help patients more effectively manage and control their high blood pressure – and ultimately prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Recent research shows that pharmacist-directed care can improve the management of major cardiovascular risk factors – including hypertension – and has a positive impact on patient health outcomes.

Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases kill more than 800,000 adults in the United States each year. Nearly one in three adults have hypertension and 36 million Americans do not have it under control. Taking hypertension medicines as prescribed can greatly reduce a patient’s risk for heart attack and stroke, yet 30% stop taking their medicines within six months and 50% stop within one year.

Team Up. Pressure Down. is a pharmacy-focused program developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts™ initiative co-led by the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The program offers time-saving resources – from video vignettes to conversation starters – that encourage and support pharmacists in providing counseling services to their hypertensive patients, with the goal of improving medication adherence. A suite of patient education materials will also be available through the program to help people with high blood pressure take a more active role in self-management efforts and to encourage increased interaction with their pharmacists.

In addition to promoting the Team Up. Pressure Down. program and educational tools, over the summer, the APhA Foundation launched the Pharmacy Blood Pressure Challenge, a screening and education initiative encouraging pharmacists to help prevent and control high blood pressure in their patients. The Challenge motivated pharmacists to talk with one patient per day about their blood pressure control. This effort focused on the prevention and control of high blood pressure by encouraging pharmacists to perform screenings and educate patients about their blood pressures. The information about in-pharmacy blood pressure education and screening programs will help portray the impact pharmacists have in their communities.

“APhA is excited to support the pharmacy profession and its role in the Team Up. Pressure Down. initiative,” stated Tom Menighan, APhA CEO and Executive Vice President. “The increase in programs supporting pharmacists in team-based care models and more patient-focused roles demonstrates the benefits of pharmacists’ clinical care services in patient health.”,

“The APhA Foundation is happy to work with the Million Hearts and Team Up. Pressure Down. to help the lower its risk of heart disease and stroke,” stated Mindy Smith, APhA Foundation Executive Director. “As an organization, we have focused our efforts on optimizing the role of pharmacists in improving people’s health by demonstrating how the pharmacist's drug therapy management skills can have a significant impact on the health outcomes of patients. The ability to successfully and effectively manage medication is an essential component of a patient’s cardiovascular self-management efforts.”

APhA and the APhA Foundation encourage pharmacists to pledge to “Be One in a Million Hearts.” For more information about the Million Hearts and Team Up. Pressure Down., please visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/resources/teamuppressuredown.html.

About the American Pharmacists Association
The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit www.pharmacist.com.

About the American Pharmacists Association Foundation
The APhA Foundation is affiliated with the American Pharmacists Association, the national professional society of pharmacists in the U.S. The APhA Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., works to design solutions to medication use problems in America. The APhA Foundation’s mission is to optimize the role of pharmacists in improving people’s health. For more information, please visit www.aphafoundation.org.

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