Abstract 18593: Impact of National Screening Intervention on AHA's ‰Life's Simple Seven Cardiovascular Metrics

Abstract

Background: Recent AHA recommendations promote 7 CV health metrics: not smoking; being physically active; having normal blood pressure, blood glucose and total cholesterol levels, and weight; and eating a healthy diet to reduce CV morbidity and mortality. As few studies have explored interventions to promote these "Simple 7", we examined the impact of a national screening program on CV health metrics in women.

Methods: In 2009, Sister to Sister provided free CV screenings in 12 cities nationwide to 9,443 women, all of which were offered enrollment into a 6-month follow-up survey study. Using data collected from baseline and 6-month surveys on CVD risk, we measured changes in “Simple 7” health metrics (excluding diet) following screening intervention.

Results: A total of 1,869 women enrolled into the study, 400 of which completed baseline and 6-month surveys. Among those completing both surveys, we observed significant overall improvement in risk scores between screening intervention and 6-month follow-up (3.8 vs. 4.2, p<0.001). We observed improvements 4 of the 6 health metrics measured (Table 1), although only blood pressure improvements were statistically significant.

Conclusion: Screening intervention was effective in improving overall health of women at 6-months, based on optimal CV health metrics. Screenings were particularly effective in improving blood pressure control. Although larger studies are needed to further assess the impact of CV screenings on health metrics, our study suggests that screenings may serve as an effective model to promote CV health metrics, especially among women.