Chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, are some of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one-third of deaths in the United States in 2019 were due to heart disease, stroke, or diabetes alone. These conditions can be prevented or even delayed by making healthy choices like, staying active, eating healthy foods, and not smoking.
The Chronic Disease Prevention Program offers multiple funding opportunities to combat and prevent the development of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. To learn more about our funding opportunities visit our funding page here.
Prediabetes
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar is high, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. It is reversible, unlike type 1 diabetes. People diagnosed with prediabetes who lose 5-7% of their body weight decrease their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58%, and by 71% if they are over the age of 60. Lifestyle change programs like the National Diabetes Prevention Program can help those diagnosed with prediabetes to lose weight and lower their risk.
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes.html
How CDPP is addressing Prediabetes:
- Strategy A.5 Collaborate with payers and relevant public and private sector organizations within the state to expand availability of the National DPP as a covered benefit for one or more of the following groups: Medicaid beneficiaries; state/public employees; employees of private sector organizations.
- Strategy A.4 Assist health care organizations in implementing systems to identify people with prediabetes and refer them to CDC-recognized lifestyle change programs for type 2 diabetes prevention.
- Strategy A.6 Implement strategies to increase enrollment in CDC-recognized lifestyle change programs.
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which blood sugar levels are elevated over a period of time. It can cause many complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, limb loss, and blindness. There are three main types of diabetes.
- Type 1 diabetes: Occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin. The cause is unknown.
- Type 2 diabetes: Occurs when cells fail to respond to insulin properly, which may lead to inadequate insulin production. It is the most common type of diabetes, and its primary cause is overweight or obesity and inadequate physical activity.
- Gestational diabetes: Occurs when pregnant women without a history of diabetes experience high blood sugar levels.
While everyone with diabetes can benefit from medically-assisted diet and exercise to help control blood sugar, type 2 diabetes is usually preventable with a healthy lifestyle. Preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes can significantly reduce medical costs and improve quality of life.
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/index.html
How CDPP is addressing diabetes:
- Strategy A.1 Improve access to and participation in ADA-recognized/AADE-accredited DSMES programs in underserved area.
- Strategy A.3 Increase engagement of pharmacists in the provision of medication management or DSMES for people with diabetes.
Heart disease and stroke
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The most common type of cardiovascular disease in the US is coronary artery disease, which can cause heart attacks and death. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and being overweight or obese are all risk factors for heart disease. Heart disease can be delayed or prevented with diet, exercise, not smoking, and with medicine, if necessary.
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/
How CDPP is addressing heart disease and stroke:
- Strategy B.1 Promote the adoption and use of electronic health records (EHR) and health information technology (HIT) to improve provider outcomes and patient health outcomes related to identification of individuals with undiagnosed hypertension and management of adults with hypertension.
- Strategy B.2 Promote the adoption of evidence-based quality measurement at the provider level (e.g., use dashboard measures) to monitor health care disparities and implement activities to eliminate health care disparities.
- Strategy B.3 Support engagement of non-physician team members (e.g., nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, nutritionists, physical therapists, social workers) in hypertension and cholesterol management in clinical settings.
- Strategy B.4 Promote the adoption of MTM between pharmacists and physicians for the purpose of managing high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and lifestyle modification.
- Strategy B.6 Facilitate use of self-measured blood pressure monitoring (SMBP) with clinical support among adults with hypertension.