FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20th, 2020

CONTACT:
University of California Irvine Hypertension Clinic
Tracy Nakata
Phone: +1-714-456-5142
E-Mail: hypertension@hs.uci.edu

University of California Irvine Health earns national recognition for efforts to reduce number of patients with uncontrolled blood pressure

The American Heart Association and American Medical Association celebrate Orange organization for commitment to prioritizing blood pressure control

Orange/California — University of California Irvine Health has been recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Medical Association (AMA) for their commitment to helping improve blood pressure (BP) control rates among the patient populations they serve, earning Participation level recognition as part of the 2020 Target: BP™ Recognition Program.

The Participation award recognizes practices that have submitted data and committed to reducing the number of adult patients with uncontrolled BP.

Hypertension (high BP) is a leading risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, and preventable death in the U.S. In addition, there are 116 million U.S. adults living with high BP and less than half of those people have their BP under control – making both diagnosing and effectively managing hypertension critical. And following the Surgeon General’s Call-to-Action to prioritize hypertension control in the U.S. and research in JAMA showing that overall rates of BP control have declined in recent years, optimizing hypertension control could not be more timely or needed.

“Same as 2019, the University of California Irvine Health has participated in the Target:BP Program this year. We have learned from last year’s our patient blood pressure control and have worked on the improvement of finding the way to improve blood pressure control and lower hypertension-mediated organ damage. On September 24th, 2020, we established Hypertension Clinic located at the Pavilion 1 Specialty Clinic area, and have provided hypertension management for our patients especially those with difficulty controlling blood pressure as well as welcome our medical trainees and visiting scholars to learn and be trained for hypertension and blood pressure-related problems. We will continue improving our practice for hypertensive care and participating with the AHA/AMA in the important initiative Target:BP Program,” said Ekamol Tantisattamo, MD, MPH, one of the transplant nephrologists at the University of California Irvine.

Target: BP is a national collaboration between the AHA and the AMA aimed at reducing the number of Americans who suffer from heart attacks and strokes each year by urging physician practices, health systems and patients to prioritize BP control. The initiative aims to help health care organizations improve BP control rates through use of the evidence-based AMA MAP BP™ quality improvement program, and recognizes organizations committed to improving blood pressure control.

The Target: BP Recognition Program celebrates physician practices and health systems, who treat patients with hypertension, for achieving BP control rates at or above 70 percent within the populations they serve. These achievements will ultimately lead to a reduction in the number of Americans who suffer heart attacks and strokes.

Learn more at TargetBP.org.

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