State Program: New York State
Basic Implementation

The New York State Department of Public Health began receiving funds from CDC in 1998 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program entitled the Healthy Heart Program.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in New York, accounting for 56,672 deaths or approximately 36% of the state's deaths in 2002. (National Vital Statistics Report 2004;53(5)).

• Stroke is the third leading cause of death, accounting for 7,625 deaths or approximately 5% 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 New York reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  In 2005,
   
  • 25.5% had high blood pressure
  • 35.5% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol

  In 2006,
   

  • 7.6% had diabetes
  • 18.2% were current smokers
  • 58.3% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 26.0% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days

State Highlights

• The program’s Cardiac Services Program (CSP) is a comprehensive initiative established to ensure the provision of high quality appropriate hospital-based cardiac services in New York state. Much of their work is guided by the Cardiac Advisory Committee (CAC), a Commissioner’s advisory body consisting of nationally renowned cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, and related specialists from New York and outside the state. The CSP develops guidelines for the provision of hospital-based cardiac care. Using sophisticated statistical analyses, the program also produces reports on risk-adjusted mortality rates from coronary interventions (e.g. cardiac surgery, angioplasty, etc.) for hospitals and physicians. These reports can be used to assess the quality of care of a particular hospital or provider.
   
• The New York State’s Office of Health Systems Management (OHSM) within the Department of Health has undertaken a major initiative to improve the quality of care for stroke patients by designating hospitals as stroke centers. To become a Designated Stroke Center (DSC), a hospital has to demonstrate that it meets the guidelines of care as specified by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association. To date 104 of the 241 hospitals in NY have met the criteria and become DSCs.
   
• New York’s 104 Designated Stroke Centers (DSC) are required to conduct public education on the signs and symptoms of stroke and the need for urgent action. To assist the DSCs in these efforts, the Heart Healthy Program (HHP) is currently developing and evaluating a pilot stroke awareness campaign in the Capital Region (Albany area). The HHP is collaborating with the Capital Region Stroke Task Force (whose members include area hospitals that are Designated Stroke Centers, AHA/ASA, local EMS, pharmacies and universities) in implementing a multi-pronged campaign to increase the recognition that the signs and symptoms of stroke are serious and there is a need to reduce the delay between symptom onset and arrival at an Emergency Department.
   
• Working with the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS), the Healthy Heart Program is working to implement evidence-based changes in health care delivery practices to improve blood pressure and cholesterol control and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) treatment. The objective is to increase the number of community health centers that agree to participate in CVD collaborative learning sessions and enter at least 100 patients with CVD into a patient registry by June 2008. A comprehensive evaluation plan will track the progress of the systems change and trends in patient care data.
   
• The Healthy Heart Program (HHP) is the lead program in the department of health promoting worksite health promotion. The major strategy is to build the capacity of partners to assist employers to implement comprehensive worksite wellness programs. They define comprehensive as 1) the provision of employer-based health insurance that meets the recommendations of the “Purchasers Guide to Clinical Preventive Services”; 2) provision of health risk assessments with appropriate referral and follow up; 3) education of employees on behavior changes to prevent and treat risk factors and recognition of the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke; and 4) environmental and policy supports that make it easier for employees to adopt and maintain healthier behaviors. In addition to the work of partners, the HHP will work with health plans, business groups, and follow legislation on universal health care.
   

For more information on heart disease and stroke prevention in the state, visit the New York State Department of Health Heart Disease Web site at http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/heart/heart_disease.htm.*

The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in New York* (PDF–3.4MB)
A report on the mortality, prevalence, risk factors, costs, and selected populations burdened by cardiovascular disease in New York State. This document is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). Learn more about PDFs.

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

 
*Links to non–Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
 

Page last reviewed: October 1, 2007
Page last modified: October 1, 2007
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion