Texas Cardiovascular Quality Recognition Program

Program Purpose

The Texas Cardiovascular Quality Recognition Program seeks to improve patient outcomes by recognizing physicians and hospitals for implementing and monitoring secondary prevention guidelines for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and improving standards of care.

Recognized physicians and hospitals encourage and foster improvement in cardiovascular care. Access to this information is intended to assist health plans, business groups, and consumers looking to identify quality providers.

Click on Recognized Physicians or Recognized Hospitals for listings of physicians and hospitals who have voluntarily agreed to be recognized as participants in recognized quality improvement programs and/or data registries. For more information on the recognition process, click on Recognition/Monitoring.

Background

In the recently released publication from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke it is noted that "heart disease and stroke together exact a greater toll on America's health than any other condition." It also states that "heart disease remains the nation's leading cause of death." Stroke is the third leading cause of death, and both conditions are major causes of adult disability. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in Texas, with stroke following in third place.

Three prevention approaches to heart disease and stroke have been initiated in recent years:

1. primordial prevention, which aims to prevent the development of CVD risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, tobacco use, obesity, physical inactivity and diabetes
2. primary prevention, which focuses on persons with risk factors but no identifiable disease and seeks to prevent a first heart attack or stroke through detection and treatment of risk factors, and
3. secondary prevention, which intends to reduce the risk of additional heart attacks or strokes by treating CVD and the risk factors.

Adherence to treatment guidelines for secondary prevention by physicians and patients has been lacking, leading to recurring events and contributing to the overall increased morbidity and mortality from CVD.

Last Updated May 5, 2005