Cardiac Outreach Program

According to the American Heart Association, one in three adults have some form of Cardiovascular Disease. More alarming are the statistics that show a disproportionate increase of heart disease in women and minorities. With that in mind, the intent is to be sure we reach out, in a special way, to our women and minority populations.

Washington Adventist Hospital was one of the sponsors of the WATTCH (Washington Association To Tend to the Concerns of Haitians) Health Fair in Langley Park. During the health fair in 2005, we screened Mr. A with a blood pressure of 196/116. He was escorted to the doctor on site. The doctor saw him immediately, and he was able to get the care and the medication needed. He was also referred to local resources that could be an on-going support to him. Because of our screening and education, he, by personal experience, was able to better understand the importance of blood pressure control and monitoring to avoid stroke, disability or even death.

In 2005, Cardiac Outreach held 181 programs and touched the lives of 14,890 people, while performing 10,807 screenings. While these numbers are wonderful, what is most important is that these numbers represent real people. One such real person was met at Montgomery Mall during a women’s heart health screening in partnership with the Sister to Sister Foundation. Ms. N was visiting from Southern Maryland in preparation for her niece’s wedding. Busy with all of the festivities, she admitted that she had ignored the chest pain she felt earlier when we found her blood pressure to be 182/108. We immediately referred her to the Emergency Department at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. In following up, we found that she had been kept overnight for observation, and she stated that she was much better and very happy for our screening and intervention.