A new study, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), suggests that widespread use of a large-scale intervention to support primary care practices in heart disease prevention could have life-saving benefits. The study, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, found that the intervention could prevent more than 3,100 atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events over 10 years and avoid $150 million in 90-day direct medical costs.

Providers can use this form when they want to refer patients to cardiac rehabilitation.

This fact sheet from the TMF Quality Innovation Network can help patients better manage heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF).

New National Institutes of Health data documents rural-urban health disparities, with this latest study finding that those living in rural regions are 19% more likely to develop heart failure than those living in urban areas. The study, published in JAMA Cardiology, also found that Black men living in rural areas were 34% more likely to develop heart failure than Black men in urban areas.

This article addresses how social determinants of health (SDOH), such as food and housing insecurity can directly increase the burden of other blood vessel diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. Exploring and understanding the relationship between peripheral artery disease (PAD) and negative social determinants of health (SDOH) in older Black adults could lead to earlier diagnoses.

In this video, Kimberly Jungkind, a health care quality improvement specialist with the TMF Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization, discusses how to reduce readmissions for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Jungkind shares resources that support patients with CHF to better manage their condition, and she offers innovative ideas for helping patients with CHF buy and cook foods that are heart healthy.

Smoking increases the formation of plaque in blood vessels. Coronary Heart Disease occurs when arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle are narrowed by plaque or blocked by clots. Chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the blood to thicken and form clots inside veins and arteries.

This tool can help cardiac rehabilitation patients keep track of their medications.

This tool gives patients a place to note their emergency contact numbers. Encourage patients to post the contact list in a place at home where other family members can see it.

This collection of videos, from the American College of Cardiology, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other organizations, covers important information about cardiac rehab, including program basics and what patients should expect from participating in a CR program. These videos also include stories from patients who participated in CR programs.

This guide provides a state-by-state list of approved fixed-dose combinations of two or more medications used to treat hypertension.

This website, maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lists evidence and clinical guidelines for treating tobacco use and dependence. Providers will also find usable tools to guide their practice and help them integrate tobacco treatment into routine clinical care.

It's important to talk to patients about quitting tobacco use. If providers aren't sure how to start the conversation, this website has resources to help them.

Tobacco dependence is recognized as a chronic disease, one that typically requires ongoing assessment and repeated intervention. In this update on previously published guidelines, the Tobacco Use and Dependence Guidance Panel notes that the most effective way to help tobacco users quit is to provide them with information about multiple effective treatment options.

This guide summarizes the strategies for helping people end their dependence on tobacco, published in full in Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. The guide includes an easy-to-follow "5A's" model for treating tobacco use and dependence

This is a patient information resource from QuitAssist®. Refer patients to this website so they can review the "5 Keys for Quitting."

This website features materials for state tobacco control programs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health.

This is a patient information resource from smokefree.gov. Refer patients to this website so they can review the different tools that can help them quit their tobacco use.

This report presents the World Health Organization's estimates of tobacco use prevalence, numbers of users, and changes between 2000 and 2018, projected to 2025. Estimates are at global, regional and country levels.

The Lung Association is a leader in the area of tobacco cessation policy at the federal, state and local levels. This website includes resources to assist states in achieving smoking cessation goals, along with information about tobacco cessation coverage policy and health systems change.

The American College of Cardiology's patient engagement program, CardioSmart, developed this infographic that providers can share with patients who may benefit from cardiac rehabilitation.

Published in CardiologyAdvisor, this article describes the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and identifies some of the barriers to ensuring patients participate in a CR program.

This presentation from HCA Midwest Health makes a case for cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Among the statistics shared: Patients who have completed a CR program can increase their life expectancy for up to five years.

This article, published in the National Library of Medicine, presents research results from a study conducted by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Enhancing communication emerged as the key factor in continuity of care and referral to cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Only a fraction of eligible patients in the U.S. enroll in a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program after a major cardiovascular event or diagnosis. This article, published in Cardiology Magazine, discusses how to overcome barriers to CR program enrollment.

Providers can refer patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation to this website, maintained by the National Library of Medicine, for a comprehensive list of heart-health resources.

This report from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) describes how the Task Force on Performance Measures (Task Force) revised the clinical performance and quality measures for cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The Task Force created a comprehensive list of measures that can be used for patients who are eligible to participate in CR. The list includes six new performance measures and three new quality measures.

This blog post from Rehab Select describes the four stages of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) so patients and family members know what to expect during each phase. The post also includes the goals typically set for each CR phase.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the traditional, facility-based cardiac rehabilitation model (CR). This expert analysis from the American College of Cardiology, however, finds that home-based cardiac rehabilitation is an effective alternative to traditional CR. The analysis further notes that, as the pandemic continues, using a home-based rehabilitation CR program can help protect patients while achieving cardiovascular outcomes.

Learn more about the Million Hearts® Cardiac Rehabilitation Collaborative (CRC), which meets virtually each quarter. CRC members include cardiac rehabilitation (CR) professionals, clinicians and health care teams, and CR participants and their family members, among others. The goal: to increase CR referral, enrollment and adherence.

The CDC published this guide to give clinicians a simple and quick intervention strategy (three-to-five minutes) to use with patients who smoke or use other tobacco products.

Electronic health records (EHRs) can be a valuable tool for providers when advising and assisting patients who want to quit smoking. The American Lung Association published this six-page paper to share promising practices and lessons learned for those who want to work with health systems to integrate or improve tobacco cessation into EHRs.

This quality improvement tool, created by the CDC, is intended for health care professionals in outpatient, inpatient and behavioral health settings that work with public health professionals who provide treatment to patients who use tobacco. The change package can help clinical teams increase the reach and effectiveness of tobacco cessation interventions and incorporate these interventions into the clinical workflow.

This quality improvement tool, created by the CDC, is intended for health care professionals in outpatient, inpatient and behavioral health settings that work with public health professionals who provide treatment to patients who use tobacco. The change package can help clinical teams increase the reach and effectiveness of tobacco cessation interventions and incorporate these interventions into the clinical workflow.

NAQC is an international, non-profit membership organization that promotes evidence-based quitline services across diverse communities in North America. More than 400 organizations and individuals make up NAQC’s membership. NACQ members help fund quitlines, conduct research around quitline-related topics, advance national cessation policies, and work in other areas of tobacco control. NAQC’s Quitline Map shows contact information and services offered in the United States and Canada.

NAQC’s Quitline Map shows contact information and services offered in the United States and Canada.

Download this two-page handout the TMF Quality Innovation Network developed to help clinicians identify patients who need tobacco cessation support and then provide treatment to those who are tobacco users.

Patients who get outpatient CR after a cardiac-related event or procedure can reduce the risk of death and decrease hospital readmissions, while also improving their quality of life. Despite the benefits, participation in CR remains low. See this change package, completed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to find out how you and you colleagues can become CR change agents for your practice.

Download this two-page handout the TMF Quality Innovation Network created to help health care providers and practitioners find and implement quality improvement interventions to help patients understand how to manage their heart health.

Patients who get outpatient CR after a cardiac-related event or procedure can reduce the risk of death and decrease hospital readmissions, while also improving their quality of life. Despite the benefits, participation in CR remains low. Download this change package, completed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to find out how you and you colleagues can become CR change agents for your practice.

Use these instructions to learn how to navigate the CDC’s Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke when looking for data related to CR facilities in the United States.

Medical practices, providers and care teams use many referral patterns to ensure patients get outpatient CR. The TAKEheart Automatic Referral Implementation Guide, Module 5 (PDF) focuses on how to create an automatic referral system so patients can transition from the inpatient environment to outpatient CR.

Medical practices, providers and care teams use many referral patterns to ensure patients get outpatient CR. The TAKEheart Automatic Referral Implementation Guide, Module 5 (PDF) focuses on how to create an automatic referral system so patients can transition from the inpatient environment to outpatient CR. This guide provides a referral workflow a care team can follow.

Health care providers are encouraged to give this two-page handout to patients who need CR and their caregivers to help them understand the benefits of CR and what to expect when participating in a CR program.

The TMF Quality Innovation Network, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, designed this change package to provide strategies to address the prevention of cardiovascular disease events by improving blood pressure control and cholesterol management.

TMF Quality Innovation Network, según el contrato con los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid, diseñó este paquete para facilitar el cambio a fin de proporcionar estrategias para abordar la prevención de eventos relacionados con las enfermedades cardiovasculares al mejorar el control de la presión arterial y del colesterol.

This tool can help Spanish-speaking cardiac rehabilitation patients keep track of their medications.