Abstract P168: Evaluation of the American Heart Association’s “Check Change ControlTM”- Blood Pressure Control Program

Abstract

Background: Blood pressure (BP) awareness, treatment and control remains suboptimal among US adults with hypertension. In response, the AHA has developed the “Check. Change. Control. TM” (CCC) BP program to reduce BP in those with elevated BP. We evaluated the efficacy of this program as implemented in a sample of Asian and Hispanic senior citizens in Southern California. Methods: We studied 122 participants aged >62 years (93% Chinese and 7% Hispanic) who participated in the CCC program in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was recorded over the CCC program resulting in 8 readings over 4 months during which participants learned self-monitoring, tracking BP, the use of the Heart360 TM digital tool, and self-management skills. Participants in this analysis were required to have baseline, final, and at least two interim BP measures. BP changes from baseline to mid-study and final visit were examined by the paired t-test among the whole cohort and in those with elevated BP (>=140 SBP and/or >=90 DBP) at baseline. Results: Average baseline SBP was 136.8 (19.4) mm Hg and DBP was 76.0 (12.0) mm Hg. At baseline, 46.7% of the participants had elevated BP, which was reduced to 41% by the final visit. The figure depicts the change in SBP and DBP from baseline to mid visit and final visit for the overall cohort and those with elevated BP at baseline. There were significant reductions in both SBP and DBP overall and especially among those with elevated BP at baseline. Further, 36.1% of participants had a SBP drop of >10 mm Hg from baseline to final visit. Conclusion: In conclusion, the AHA’s CCC program had a significant impact in reducing BP in our AHA CCC participants, especially among those with elevated BP at baseline. Further study should investigate the specific program and patient factors that best predict blood pressure reduction.