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Washington State Cardiovascular Connection
Heart disease and stroke combined are the leading causes of death in Washington State, and both share hypertension and high cholesterol as major risk factors. This site is dedicated to helping health professionals and community-based partners reduce the impact of cardiovascular diseases in our communities. The Washington State Department of Health’s Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Prevention Program maintains this site in collaboration with partners in the Cardiovascular and Diabetes Network Leadership Team.
2025 Update to American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics
The American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health released an annual statistics update that presents data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions and the associated outcomes. You can read the full article in the association's journal Circulation or review their summary available in English and 8 other languages.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. as key health risk factors continue to rise. This update and its associated materials are critical resources for professionals and the public to remain informed.
2025 Summary:
Understanding the Need for Place-Based Community Care for Latino and Other Underserved and Marginalized Communities
The Mi Salud pilot program partners with grassroots community-based organizations throughout Washington to check blood pressure, screen A1C levels, and measure height, weight, and BMI. This mobile cardiometabolic health screening, counseling, and referral program organized by the University of Washington's Latino Center for Health aims to improve the health of Latinos in Washington and help reduce the barriers to care that they face.
After each health screening, Mi Salud provides individualized counseling, referrals to local clinics, and healthy living group talks led by a Promotora de Salud (Community Health Worker). Read more about the program and their recommendations on how to improve our healthcare system (PDF) to reach and serve all members of our communities.
Learn about the Latino Center for Health on their website or contact them at latcntr@uw.edu.
Physical Activity Lowers Mortality Across Weight Spectrum
A new meta-analysis from the British Journal Sports Medicine (PDF) finds that those classified as fit, regardless of BMI status, showed no statistically significant increase in CVD or all-cause mortality risk compared with normal weight-fit individuals. The not-so-good news, all BMI classifications who were unfit showed 2 to 3-fold increases in risk of CVD and all-cause mortality compared with normal weight-fit individuals. All the more reason to encourage everyone, regardless of size, to be physically active. You may wish to share the links below, which lead to resources to encourage physical activity during the colder months.
6 Ways to Stay Physically Active in Winter | National Council on Aging
11 ways to stay active in winter | Heart and Stroke Foundation
How to Stay Active in Cold Weather | American Heart Association
Increase Activity with Self-Directed Walk With Ease
Whether the goal is to manage or prevent chronic health conditions–like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes–or simply increase your overall sense of wellbeing and fitness, the Walk With Ease program is a tool that can support you physical activity and movement.
Walk With Ease can help reduce pain and improve function, mood, and quality of life for adults with chronic conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The Arthritis Association's Walk With Ease program provides resources for community leaders and members in establishing a program. Washington State Department of Health supports efforts with resource pages in both English and Spanish.
Team-Based Care White Paper from the CDNLT
Team Effort: Supporting Diabetes Care with a Team-Based Approach (PDF) is a white paper developed between 2020 – 2022 by the Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Network Leadership Team (CDNLT). CDNLT members collaborated to interview seven professionals and one patient in an effort to share that information about the various roles in the health care system and how they are all a part of the diabetes management team. Interdisciplinary teamwork is an important model for delivering appropriate and effective health care to individuals with diabetes and other chronic conditions, such as hypertension. See the Team-Based Care page for more resources.
Support for Lower Blood Pressure
Campaigns have sprung up to help promote National Stroke Awareness Month and High Blood Pressure Education Month (May). Take a look at our Awareness Campaigns page, and choose videos, images, and messages to share with the people you serve.
What Would You Like To Do Here?
This site contains information, resources, links, and actions to take to improve the health of our communities and reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease in our state.
- Use Team-Based Care to improve your patients’ cardiovascular health (without adding to the burden of your primary care providers)
- Use health data to improve high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol in your population
- Partner with community health workers to improve your population’s health
- Partner with pharmacists to improve your population’s health
- Link with community resources to improve your population’s health