State Program: Wisconsin
Capacity Building

In 2000, CDC provided the Wisconsin Division of Public Health capacity building funding to support heart disease and stroke prevention initiatives within the state. In addition to capacity building funding, the state received CDC funding in 2007 to implement a public health demonstration project addressing prevention of heart disease and stroke recurrence and complications.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Wisconsin, accounting for 12,923 deaths or approximately 27% of the state's deaths in 2002. (National Vital Statistics Report 2004;53(5)).

• Stroke is the third leading cause of death, accounting for 3,479 deaths or approximately 7% of the state's deaths in 2002. (National Vital Statistics Report 2004;53(5)).

• According to Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Wisconsin reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  In 2005,
   
  • 25.0% had high blood pressure
  • 35.5% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol

  In 2006,
   

  • 6.2% had diabetes
  • 20.8% were current smokers
  • 63.4% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 19.3% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days

State Highlights

• The Wisconsin heart disease and stroke prevention (HDSP) program completed an inventory and analysis of statewide and organizational policies. The inventory enumerated policies on heart disease risk factors (tobacco use, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition). The process of developing the policy inventory was the catalyst for program interactions and integration between chronic disease programs. The inventory logically led to a "gap analysis" of state and organizational level policies to focus the Wisconsin Cardiovascular Health (CVH) Alliance’s policy development activities, specifically the activities of the policy/advocacy workgroup.
   
• In 2003, the Wisconsin HDSP program developed “Mapping Stroke Disparity in Wisconsin” and presented the results at the 16th Great Lakes Regional CVH Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The findings showed that: 1) men have a higher stroke mortality rate than women, 2) American Indians have the highest mortality rate followed by African Americans and Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 3) residents of non-metropolitan counties have a higher mortality rate than residents of metropolitan counties.
   
• Wisconsin is part of the Great Lakes Regional Stroke Network funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Network is led by the Illinois Department of Public Health and also includes Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio.
   
• In 2005, the Wisconsin HDSP program published “The Wisconsin Plan for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, 2005-2009”. The Wisconsin Library Association Government Information Round Table recognized the plan as an exemplary document, giving it an honorable mention for the Distinguished Document Award. A copy was sent to the American Library Association for consideration for their Notable Documents award for 2007.
   
• The Wisconsin HDSP program has partnered with the CDC Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to develop and promote Wisconsin’s Worksite Wellness Toolkit to assist worksites in developing policies that prevent or reduce cardiovascular risk factors.
   
• The Hospital Quality Improvement Initiative focuses on inpatient cardiac and stroke care. Recognizing the long history of hospital improvement of cardiac measures, the July 2007 to June 2008 plan proposes to reassess current cardiac measures and focus on advancing stroke care. A primary objective for stroke is to achieve public reporting of stroke measures and develop a system for hospitals to designate their role along the continuum of stroke care.
   
• The Preventing Recurrence Initiative builds on the efforts of the Wisconsin Society for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Health and Rehabilitation (WISCPHR) and their existing database that tracks patients completing cardiac rehabilitation programs (graduates). The goal is to increase compliance of cardiac rehabilitation graduates to medication (high blood pressure controlled and high cholesterol treated to goal) and healthy lifestyle behavior at 3-months, 6-months, and 12-months. The lessons learned will be shared with stroke specialists and primary care providers.
   
• The program partnered with the Diabetes Health Maintenance Organization Collaborative and the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association (WPHCA) to implement The Wisconsin Primary Care Initiative. The Initiative concentrates on the detection and treatment of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The work with the HMOs is directed toward improving performance as measured by collective cardiovascular Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures. The data offers an opportunity to use the measures to target and evaluate project implementation. In 2003, the collaborators represented over 99% of the over one million non-Medicaid and non-Medicare individuals enrolled in HMOs in Wisconsin.

For more information on heart disease and stroke prevention in Wisconsin, visit http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/Health/cardiovascular/index.htm.

To view county–level data, visit our interactive map site at http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/library/maps/statemaps.htm.

Page last reviewed: December 5, 2007
Page last modified: December 5, 2007
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion