Nurses from all sectors can take a leading role in preventing and controlling hypertension, thereby preventing high rates of cardiovascular disease, new study says.
With hypertension (HTN) as a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD), affecting nearly one in two adults in the United States, a new study has developed a "Call to Action for Nurses" to take a leading role in improving cardiovascular health.
The paper was published online last week in Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing.
Nursing leaders from 11 national organizations identified the critical roles and actions of nursing in improving HTN control and cardiovascular health, in response to the 2020 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Control Hypertension.
Within weeks of the release of the Surgeon General's report, the nursing leaders formed a work group to review the literature, synthesize the evidence, and make recommendations.
"Evidence-based interventions exist for nurses to lead efforts to prevent and control hypertension, thus preventing much CVD," the study says. "Nurses can take actions in their communities, their healthcare setting, and their organization to translate these interventions into real-world practice settings."
The call to action is for multiple sectors of nursing—registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, schools of nursing, professional nursing organizations, quality improvement nurses, and nursing researchers—and outlines specific actions that various nursing sectors can take.
For example, RNs can:
- Ensure BP is measured accurately
- Provide health coaching
- Assess and address social determinants of health (SDOH) and mental health
Schools of nursing can:
- Ensure BP measurement competence
- Teach HTN and CVD risk prevention and management
- Instruct about SDOHs and their role on cardiovascular outcomes
Professional nursing organizations can:
- Make cardiovascular health a priority for national conferences and meetings
- Promote evidence-based interventions
- Mobilize members to support HTN policy changes
- Advance research
Though CVD remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality for both men and women across the United States and around the world, a 2020 study indicated that only 77% of individuals were aware that they had hypertension and only 44% of those with hypertension had their BP controlled.
Uncontrolled hypertension is an independent risk factor for CVD, stroke, kidney disease, and cognitive decline and significantly contributes to complications of pregnancy and mortality, the study says.
Resources that nurses from all sectors can use include:
- Million Hearts®, a national initiative co-led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to prevent 1 million heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events over a five-year period.
- Target: BP™, an initiative of the American Heart Association and the American Medical Association (AMA) in response to the prevalence of uncontrolled BP.
- The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA), a nursing organization preventing cardiovascular disease through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes, and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals.
The websites of these organizations offer numerous tools to assist nurses.
Carol Davis is the Nursing Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Hypertension affects nearly one in two adults in the United States and is a leading cause of heart disease.
The U.S. Surgeon General has called for the control of hypertension.
A new paper directs nurses to take a leading role in improving cardiovascular health.