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February 2024

Hypertension: a Pandemic Perspective

Health and Well-Being Matter. ODPHP Director RDML Paul Reed, MD.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, puts tens of millions of people at risk for largely preventable conditions — such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure — and premature death. Hypertension is one of the leading modifiable risk factors causing chronic disease and premature mortality in the United States. Yet a large percentage of Americans are unaware that they have hypertension, and only about 1 in 4 adults in the United States have it under control. Preventing and controlling hypertension for Americans will save lives, reduce inordinate costs, and improve health, well-being, and resilience. The first step toward these outcomes is acknowledging that hypertension, sometimes called the “silent killer” for often going undetected before leading to serious harm, is also a “silent pandemic” — and though it’s not a contagious threat in the traditional sense, hypertension needs to be addressed with even greater attention and urgency. The statistics clearly define the problem.

March National Health Observances: Nutrition, Colorectal Cancer Awareness and Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness

NHO Spotlight

Each month, we feature select National Health Observances (NHOs) that support our mission to improve health across the United States. In March, we’re raising awareness about nutrition, colorectal cancer, and HIV/AIDS among women and girls.To make it easy for you, we’ve listed some resources below that you can use to promote these NHOs with your networks...

Registration Is Now Open for the Next Healthy People 2030 Webinar, “Planning for Individual and Community Health”

Healthy People 2030

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) is pleased to announce its next Healthy People 2030 webinar: Planning for Individual and Community Health. This webinar will take place on Tuesday, March 19 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET. During this event, ODPHP will present on the webinar’s four featured objectives related to public health infrastructure and planning. The webinar will also feature a presentation by the Centers for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics to share the latest data on the four featured objectives and a presentation by Healthy People 2030 Champion, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, on their efforts to address public health infrastructure at the state and local level. Continuing Education Credits* (CEs) are available.

ICYMI: HHS Hosts First-Ever “Food is Medicine” Summit in Washington, D.C.

In recognition of the critical connection between nutrition and the ability for individuals to thrive in their communities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services held the first-ever Food is Medicine Summit on January 31. The event demonstrates federal momentum and commitment to advance the Food is Medicine priority included in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition & Health.