Million Hearts, a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in five years, has recognized The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) as a Million Hearts Hospital for its excellence in preventing heart attacks and strokes. The Johns Hopkins Hospital was selected for its efforts to improve the cardiovascular health of patients, staff, and nearby communities. JHH is the seventh hospital or health system, among more than 5,000 nationally, to receive this designation.

Million Hearts, co-led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, highlighted Johns Hopkins’ advances in cardiac rehabilitation. For example, the hospital implemented a hybrid cardiac rehab program that combines both in-person and home-based sessions to improve access to care. This program uses the Corrie app — created by cardiologists and an interdisciplinary team at Johns Hopkins as a digital health care intervention, delivered on smartphones with integrated smartwatch and blood pressure devices — to help patients improve cardiovascular health after a cardiac event. The app holistically supports guideline-based risk reduction strategies through a daily care plan, education, supervised exercise, help with appointments, blood pressure management and medication tracking.

"I’m extremely proud of our team pushing the boundaries of current care models by creating an equity-first, patient-centered and engaging digital health intervention that meets patients where they are and can help more patients get their lives back after a cardiovascular disease event,” says Seth Martin, M.D., M.H.S., cardiologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Mobile Technologies to Achieve Equity in Cardiovascular Health.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital was also recognized for its use of the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard to promote employee health and well-being. Among its well-being initiatives is a blood pressure screening program that provides free home blood pressure monitors to employees with or at risk of developing high blood pressure.

“Whether you are the CEO or a front-line manager, we each have a role to play in building a well-being culture on our team,” says Richard Safeer, M.D., chief medical director of employee health and well-being for Johns Hopkins Medicine. “When everyone on the team is on a well-being journey together, the entire organization will see gains.”

Regarding community health, Million Hearts highlighted Johns Hopkins’ work to promote health equity and reduce barriers to care. Those efforts include the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity’s development of a hypertension best practices training program for clinicians.

"Cardiovascular disease is the largest contributor to race and income health disparities in our region and across the country, so it’s important that researchers partner with health care systems to develop and provide evidence-based, community-informed resources, programs and support systems that advance health equity,” says Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity.

“On behalf of the CDC, our Million Hearts team and the Million Hearts initiative, we are pleased to recognize The Johns Hopkins Hospital for its dedication and commitment to improving the cardiovascular health of its patients, employees and communities,” says Laurence Sperling, M.D., executive director of Million Hearts. “Providing the option of participation in The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s hybrid cardiac rehabilitation program means more patients at risk for a subsequent cardiovascular event receive evidence-based comprehensive risk reduction services. Moreover, The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s prioritization of employee well-being and focus on improving patient blood pressure control demonstrates how a hospital or health system can work to systematically improve the cardiovascular health of their employees and patients.”

The Million Hearts Hospitals & Health Systems Recognition Program is a national effort to promote proven approaches to tackling the leading causes of heart disease and stroke. Through the program, hospitals can be recognized for the ways they are improving the cardiovascular health of the patients and communities they serve through the priority areas of 1) keeping people healthy, 2) optimizing care, 3) improving outcomes for priority populations and 4) innovating for health.