The American Heart Association presents the Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol™ Award for commitment to addressing high cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke
BUFFALO, NY — The Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. has received the American Heart Association’s Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol™ Gold Award in recognition of its commitment to reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke through improved cholesterol management.
More than 94 million adults in the U.S. have elevated cholesterol and only slightly more than half of them are appropriately managing the condition. High cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. If a person has other risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure or diabetes, their risk increases even more.
“The Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol initiative makes it easy for our providers to implement research-based clinical guidelines into clinical practice to help more people in Erie and Niagara counties control their cholesterol,” said Dr. Ann-Marie John, Director, Prevention and Wellness, Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. “This recognition is a testament to the excellent care our patients receive that aligns with the American Heart Association’s evidence-based guidelines.
To help people better understand their risk and learn to manage their cholesterol, the American Heart Association launched its Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol initiative in 2017. Participating practices have access to tools and resources that allow clinicians to easily implement guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association to improve cholesterol control. The Association’s Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol initiative is supported by Amgen.
“High cholesterol continues to be one of the major risk factors for heart disease, yet remains undertreated,” said Howard Haft M.D., MMM, CPE, FACPE, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association and executive director of the Maryland Primary Care Program, in Baltimore. “We are so glad to see dedicated professionals like those at the Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. join this initiative to prioritize cholesterol management in their practices and ultimately improve heart health across the nation.”
The Gold award recognizes practices that have fulfilled the Participant criteria and that have 70% or more of their adult, at-risk atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) patient population appropriately managed with statin therapy. Learn more at Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol.
About Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol™
The American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organization dedicated to building longer, healthier lives, created the Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol™ initiative with national support from Amgen to improve awareness, detection and management of high cholesterol for consumers, patients and health care professionals.
