November 2021: Hypertension Management

Associations between Hypertension & Social Determinants of Health

American Journal of Hypertension, 2021

Based on an analysis of NHANES data from 2011-2018 for 21,664 US adults, social determinants were independently associated with hypertension outcomes.

• After adjustment, hypertension prevalence was higher among:
• Black and Asian men and women, and Hispanic women
• Men and women without a college education

• After adjustment, controlled blood pressure prevalence was lower among:
• Black and Asian men and women
• Men and women with no routine place for healthcare
• Uninsured men and women
• Unemployed or unmarried women were more likely to have controlled BP than employed or married women.

Full text article available here >>>

National Hypertension Control Initiative:

This initiative aims to address hypertension in vulnerable, historically underserved populations.

• Equipping CHCs is a primary focus of the program.
• Visit the Community Health Center Hub for hypertension management information and tools. 



TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY

Self-Measured Blood Pressure Instruction Videos

Through the Million Hearts Initiative, NACHC has produced patient instructional videos for self-measured blood pressure (SMBP)



• Click here for Spanish instructions >>>
• Click here for English instructions >>>

Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring Forum Meeting

An opportunity for clinical, public health, and community-based partners to exchange best and promising practices, identify solutions to common obstacles, and share resources to accelerate SMBP monitoring uptake. The Forum convenes online quarterly.

Thursday, December 9

1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Register here

E-mail questions about the Forum to MillionHeartsSMBP@nachc.com

TPCA Health IT Services

Advances in technology are transforming hypertension management. For health centers participating in TPCA’s Center for Quality in Community Health (CQCH), HIT services are available, including support and education on remote patient monitoring. Other CQCH services include EHR assessments to identify potential workflow improvements relating to hypertension.

For questions or assistance, contact Raul Marrero: raul.marrero@tnpca.org

Intensifying Treatment to Achieve Blood Pressure Control

Co-sponsored by CDC and CMS

Join the second session of a bi-monthly learning series.

Wednesday, November 17

3:00-4:00 p.m. ET

Register here

Topics will include:

• Applying key recommendations from the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults.
• Benefits of treatment intensification for achieving blood pressure control.
• Causes of therapeutic inertia and practical tips for mitigation.

The series is open to all health center staff, especially clinicians and quality improvement staff.

Clinicians may earn 1.0 CME credit per session and up to 5.0 credits for attending the full series through the American Medical Association's Ed Hub

Nonpharmacologic Interventions for Reducing Blood Pressure

J Am Heart Assoc, 2020

According to a network meta-analysis on nonpharmacologic interventions for elevated blood pressure, high quality evidence suggests that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is the most effective intervention for lowering BP in adults.

For individuals on antihypertensive medications, aerobic exercise and relaxation techniques such as breathing control and meditation are also recommended.

Full text article available here >>>

DASH Patient Education Materials:

National Institutes of Health



• Why the DASH Eating Plan Works
• Available in Spanish >>>
• Available in English >>> 
• Tips to Reduce Sodium
• Available in Spanish >>>
• Available in English >>>
• 7 Day DASH Eating Plan: Available in English >>>

Exercise Education Resource:

USDHHS, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion



• The Move Your Way^® campaign promotes exercise education and accessibility for adults, parents, and pregnant individuals.
• The website can be viewed in English or Spanish: https://health.gov/moveyourway
• The physical activity tracker educates users on activities that count as exercise, facilitates goal setting, and provides a calendar to track progress toward activity goals: https://health.gov/moveyourway/activity-planner

Guided Relaxation Resources:

• Breathing exercise: American Lung Association
• Guided meditations: UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
• UCLA's recordings are available in many languages, including Cantonese, Spanish, and American Sign Language. 

IN OTHER NEWS

Attention: National Hypertension Control Initiative Award Recipients

A new Federal Register Notice related to this supplemental award is open for public comment through Friday, November 19. It is for the proposed collection of data for the purpose of evaluating your efforts to improve hypertension control among your patient population.

Data collected will be used to:

• Track and monitor systems change implementation.
• Assess the capacity of National Hypertension Control Initiative (NHCI) partners to implement the project, their needs, the strengths and weaknesses of the systems change approach, and the feasibility of the implementation of the NHCI in their organizations and communities.
• Assess the reach and success of NHCI project strategies implemented by partners.

December 1, 2021 Webinar:

TennCare & MCOs on Maternal Health

TennCare and partner health plans will host a joint Managed Care Organization (MCO)-TennCare webinar on maternal health updates on December 1st at 11:30 a.m. CST/12:30 p.m. EST.

TennCare and our MCOs continue to invest heavily into opportunities to further improve maternal and infant health. During this one-hour long webinar, leadership from TennCare and each MCO (Amerigroup Tennessee, BlueCare Tennessee, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan) will provide important updates regarding the following:

• Available support that each MCO offers to the maternity population and their providers during the pregnancy and postpartum journey
• Coding and reimbursement updates for submitting the Maternity Care Management Form 
• Enhanced reimbursement for conducting mental health screenings with validated tools
• TennCare’s new pregnancy dental benefit and extension of TennCare postpartum coverage

TennCare encourages all providers, administrators, and office staff who serve pregnant and postpartum TennCare members to attend. Presentation materials will be made available after the webinar on TennCare’s maternal health website.

To attend, register here >>>

If you have any questions, please contact jona.bandyopadhyay@tn.gov.

TN Primary Care Association | www.tnpca.org