2013 ASH Hypertension Community Outreach - American Society of ...

American Society of Hypertension &
International Society on Hypertension in Blacks
Collaborate on Health Screening in San Francisco, California
The American Society of Hypertension (ASH), the leading voice for high blood pressure in the
U.S., has committed to an innovative public
health approach. It comprehensively screens
and educates individuals who are at high risk
for hypertension . During the recent 2013
Annual Scientific Meeting & Exposition in San
Francisco, California, ASH completed its sixth
citywide Hypertension Community Outreach
Program to educate the public hypertension by
intervention and education at the community
level. The first such program was conducted in
New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2008, and the second in San Francisco in 2009, also in conjunction
with the ASH annual meeting. Overall, the ASH outreach effort builds on previous and
ongoing public health programs ASH strives to address hypertension at the community level
teaching the public about hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
On Saturday, 18 May 2013, the American Society of Hypertension, Inc. (ASH), in collaboration
with the International Society on
Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB), held a
health screening festival in San Francisco,
California. In five hours, 155 people
were registered and screened for blood
pressure, glucose, cholesterol and BMI.
Eight physicians from ASH and ISHIB,
Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, Chair, ASH
Hypertension Community Outreach
Committee, Steven Yarows, MD, Co-
Chair, ASH Hypertension Community Outreach Committee, Vieta Bland, MD, Cornelius
Flowers, MD, Joseph Izzo, Jr., MD, Suzanne Nicholas, MD, David Kountz, MD, Priscilla

Johnson, PhD and Elijah Saunders, MD, were available to counsel privately with each patient
about his or her testing results and overall health.
In the early afternoon, a senior citizen came walking from the street and vaguely described feeling
“funny” to the health staff. A few of the doctors collectively reviewed the woman’s symptoms and
decided to rush her to the hospital immediately for further testing.
Results:
The results from the screening showed 52% of
those who were screened were women while 48%
were men. The average age was 52 years; the
average height was 5 Ft. 6 in and the average
weight was 165 lbs.
Overall Statistics: Of our sample vs US National Average
Glucose 125 mg/dl 103 mg/dl
Cholesterol 198 mg/dl 188 mg/dl
HDL 54 mg/dl 48 mg/dl
Blood Pressure 132/75 mmHg 130/80 mmHg
BMI 25.5 29.9
Blood Pressure Results
Blood pressure results showed that 26%
of those screened had readings of 141/91
or higher. 50% of those screened had
blood pressures between 120/80 and
140/90. 24% had blood pressure less than
120/80.

Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Results
Results also showed that 68 % of those screened for glucose were within a normal range (non
fasting), while 23 % ranged between 140 and 199 and 7 % were in a high range of over 200. (non
fasting)
For cholesterol, 55% of those screened had
readings under 200 mg/dl.; 28% had readings
between 200 and 239; 17% had cholesterol
greater than 240.
The ASH Outreach Initiative, for over six
years, has included screening and education
at the community level as well as directly
educating physicians, nurse practitioners and
other front-line providers where they
practiced. Grand Rounds were held at Kaiser
Permanente San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Oakland.
Many thanks to Kaiser Permanente for providing information to the public about nutrition,
smoking cessation, exercise, diabetes weight, stress, heart disease, colds and flu and allergies. A
special thank you to Takeda Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A, Inc. and Omron Healthcare, Inc. for their
generous support of the ASH Hypertension Community Outreach program.