Commitment to Hypertension Control During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Million Hearts Initiative Exemplars

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but 3 of 4 US adults do not have their blood pressure adequately con-trolled. Million Hearts (US Department of Health and Human Ser-vices) is a national initiative that promotes a set of priorities and interventions to optimize delivery of evidence-based strategies to manage cardiovascular disease, including hypertension. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has disrupted routine care and preventive service delivery. We identified examples of clinical and health organizations that adapted services and care processes to continue a focus on monitoring and controlling hypertension dur-ing the pandemic. Eight Hypertension Control Exemplars were identified and interviewed. They reported various adapted care strategies including telemedicine, engaging patients in self -measured blood pressure monitoring, adapting or implementing medication management services, activating partnerships to re-spond to patient needs or expand services, and implementing unique patient outreach approaches. Documenting these hyperten-sion control strategies can help increase adoption of adaptive ap-proaches during public health emergencies and routine care.