Know Your Numbers: A Health Promotions Program
Background
Know your numbers is a program that promotes health and wellness among residents in the city of Highland Park, Michigan. It is a series of workshops that will focus on topics such as taking one’s blood pressure the correct way, how to log readings, healthy communication with health care provider, nutrition, and physical activity. This program is designed to reduce the effects of high blood pressure and to curtail common secondary underlying conditions within the community of Highland Park, Michigan.
Common secondary conditions are both physical and emotional, including weight issues which in turn will cause joint pain with further inability to stay active. Most people with hypertension are unaware of the problem because it may have no warning signs or symptoms. For this reason, it is essential that blood pressure is measured regularly.
When symptoms do occur, they can include early morning headaches, nosebleeds, irregular heart rhythms, vision changes, and buzzing in the ears. Severe hypertension can cause fatigue, nausea, vomiting, confusion, anxiety, chest pain, and muscle tremors.
The only way to detect hypertension is to have a health professional measure blood pressure. Having blood pressure measured is quick and painless. Although individuals can measure their own blood pressure using automated devices, an evaluation by a health professional is important for assessment of risk and associated conditions.
Need
Today, hypertension affects more than 65 million American adults. This means that about 1 out of every 3 people in the US suffers with hypertension. Hypertension knows no boundaries and affects babies, children, teenagers, young adults, and the elderly. Both women and men are at risk for hypertension.
Some findings report that one-third to one-half of people with high blood pressure don’t even know they have it. There are new estimates that another 59 million Americans have a condition called prehypertension with blood pressure ranging from 120/80 to 138/89.
In addition, about 6 to 8 percent of pregnant women are affected by hypertension that can lead to a very serious condition called preeclampsia.
High blood pressure often has no signs or symptoms. Once diagnosed, however, it can be controlled through a combination of diet, exercise and medication. High blood pressure is influenced by risk factors that can be changed such as smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet (eating foods high in sodium and low in potassium) and excessive alcohol use. Recently revised guidelines lowered the cutoff for what counts as high blood pressure, which means that even more people may unknowingly have it.
In 2016-2017, the total direct cost of high blood pressure was $52.4 billion. By 2035, it is projected that the total direct costs of high blood pressure could reach $220.9 billion.
Highland Park, Michigan is an enclave of Detroit, Michigan with a population of 8,977 per the U.S. 2020 Census. Highland Park, Michigan racial make-up consist of 93.5% African American, 3.2% White, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Highland Park, Michigan has a poverty rate of 46.5%. Within the city, there exist limited health care resources, and no quality markets. We at the Charlie E & Minnie P Hendrix Foundation for Chronic Illness, believe that starting within the community, with ongoing community-based programs where people congregate will play a valuable role in providing on going educational information to the residents of this city.
What Works?
Interventions promoting education and treatment for high-risk populations such as barbershops among Black males have been shown to be effective and sustainable.
Goals
Charlie E & Minnie P Hendrix Foundation has two objectives related to high blood pressure, reducing the proportion of adults with high blood pressure and increasing control of high blood pressure in adults in the city of Highland Park, Michigan, through community participation and education. We know that health is important it is one of the greatest asset one can have. It is our duty to help people and communities improve and restore their health across biological, psychological, behavioral, social & environmental domains.
References
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Brondolo, Elizabeth, et al. “Racism and Hypertension: A Review of the Empirical Evidence and Implications for Clinical Practice.” American Journal of Hypertension, vol. 24, no. 5, May 2011, pp. 518–29, doi:10.1038/ajh.2011.9.
Muntner, Paul, et al. “Racial Differences in Abnormal Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Measures: Results From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.” American Journal of Hypertension, vol. 28, no. 5, May 2015, pp. 640–48, doi:10.1093/ajh/hpu193.
Polar, Kartika, and Roland Sturm. 2009. “Potential Societal Savings from Reduced Sodium Consumption in the U.S. Adult Population.” American Journal of Health Promotion 24 (1): 49–57. https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.080826-QUAN-164.
Victor, Ronald G., et al. “Sustainability of Blood Pressure Reduction in Black Barbershops.” Circulation, vol. 139, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 10–19. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038165.
Virani, Salim S., Alvaro Alonso, Hugo J. Aparicio, Emelia J. Benjamin, Marcio S. Bittencourt, Clifton W. Callaway, April P. Carson, et al. 2021. “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2021 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.” Circulation 143 (8). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000950