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Program Background and Mission

In 1998, Congress gave the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds to create a national, state–based heart disease and stroke prevention program. The initial funding was for eight states, and South Carolina was one of them.

South Carolina met its objectives the first three years of the program. In September, 2001, the CDC designated South Carolina and 11 other states as Comprehensive Cardiovascular Health States. This meant five years of increased funding, which lasted until June of 2007. South Carolina was then one of 20 states awarded an additional five years of funding for a Capacity Building Heart Disease and Stroke Program.  The program's priorities include:

• Encouraging collaboration between public and private sector partners.
• Defining the cardiovascular disease burden and assessing existing population–based strategies for heart disease and stroke prevention.
• Developing and updating a comprehensive state plan for heart disease and stroke prevention that includes heart–healthy policies, a change in physical and social environments, and elimination of disparities (e.g., those based on geography, gender, race or ethnicity, or income).
• Identifying culturally appropriate ways to promote cardiovascular health to various racial, ethnic, and other priority populations.
• Increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke.
• Implementating and evaluating policy and environmental, and educational interventions in health care sites, work sites, schools, and communities.
• Providing training and technical assistance to public health and health care professionals and partners to support primary and secondary heart disease and stroke prevention.

The three priority populations for outreach strategies are:

• African-Americans: Cardiovascular disease is the most serious health challenge facing African-Americans. They suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease across all age groups and in all aspects of the disease. With primary cardiovascular disease risk factors, African-Americans are less likely to eat five fruit and vegetables a day, less likely to report engaging in regular and sustained physical activity, and more likely to be current smokers.
• Indigent and Underserved: Many South Carolinians are at risk of becoming medically indigent. This includes people who cannot pay their hospital bills, and people who decide not to get the care they need because they cannot pay for medical services.
• Rural Population: South Carolina is a rural state with large medically underserved areas. Specialized care is primarily available in the largest population centers and is often inaccessible for the rural poor.

Due to the high level of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in our society, improving cardiovascular health requires a broad-based approach to ensure a sustainable, lasting change in the state's disease pattern.

The HDSP includes specialists from several important areas: public information, partnership building, community education, project evaluation, health systems, and secondary prevention. We work closely with other programs in the Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention in the diabetes prevention, tobacco prevention, obesity prevention, physical activity, and nutrition areas. We also collaborate with the Bureau of Epidemiologist, the Office of Minority Health, and other DHEC divisions to benefit from their specific skill areas.