Eric Thompson, Senior Director, Communications & Marketing, American Heart Association.

Consider the simple avocado.  Not only is the unlikely fruit the iconic agricultural staple of North County, it is also an apt mascot for Vista Community Clinic and their life-saving, Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring program. While one wouldn’t typically think of guacamole as a health food, the avocado is a favorite source of tasty heart-friendly recipes and “good” fats that enhance cardiovascular health.

Avocados and Vista Community Clinic are allies in the battle against heart disease.

High blood pressure is a leading preventable cause of cardiovascular disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of adults in the United States (47%) have high blood pressure, and many are not aware of their numbers. Despite its prevalence and health impact, high blood pressure remains undiagnosed, misunderstood, or ignored by many people. 

Vista Community Clinic is empowering over 1,300 patients to take control of their blood pressure through a long-standing collaboration with the American Heart Association and new funding and support via the National Hypertension Control Initiative. 

In July 2021, Vista Community Clinic received federal funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Primary Health Care to support a large-scale patient self-monitoring program over three years. The American Heart Association was chosen to provide technical assistance to the health centers who were awarded this funding. Vista Community Clinic worked with the American Heart Association to create a customized Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring program to ensure it was tailored to patient and staff needs, using the mighty and delicious avocado as their program mascot. 

The Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring program was fully rolled out  to all seven of their primary care locations in the summer of 2022. The program works with clinicians to identify patients who have uncontrolled high blood pressure or may have an unconfirmed diagnosis of high blood pressure.  

The team then follows up with the at-risk patient after their scheduled visit to enroll them in the program that loans them a monitor for at-home use. The team teaches the patient how to take their blood pressure at home, record it, and share the information with the Vista Community Clinic care team from a Bluetooth-connected monitor or through paper logs.  Through follow-up coaching, they offer additional education on how to lower blood pressure and work to keep it under control.

After this three-month loaner and coaching program, the Vista Community Clinic team helps patients get their own blood pressure monitor, via insurance or charitable means, so they can keep up with their progress. 

 “The Self-Monitoring Blood Pressure Program helps people lower their risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney damage, loss of vision, and erectile dysfunction,” said Ron Gatan, a family nurse practitioner at the Vista Community Clinic - Grapevine location. “This is all in an attempt to extend and enhance quality of life.”

As part of the program, patients are referred to a four-week lifestyle modification class where they learn how to control their blood pressure and receive information about nutrition, sodium intake and food labels. The program has also helped create a richer partnership between providers and patients to achieve better health outcomes around blood pressure control and management. 

“Educating patients, improving on the quality of life and empowering patients to take control of their chronic health disease -- that is the lifework of the Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring program at Vista Community Clinic,” said Director of Nursing Services Lori Roach.  “Our success is measured by the number of patients we have encountered who now have their blood pressure under control.” 

Vista Community Clinic has worked with the American Heart Association on the nationwide “Target: BP” initiative to increase hypertension control for the past five years, focusing on best practices for clinical staff training, workflow, and patient interactions. 

The American Heart Association has also provided 48 blood pressure monitors with access to Bluetooth connectivity for those patients who graduate from the program; staff incentives to enroll more patients; technical support for program and system changes; and additional Target: BP resources and webinars.

Vista Community Clinic’s adult patient population is over 40,000. More than 9,000 of those patients had a diagnosis of hypertension in 2021. 

This collaboration is prioritizing hypertension so their patients can live longer, healthier lives. Patients at Vista Community Clinic who would like to take part in the blood pressure monitoring program should talk to their healthcare team about signing up.

Just like our friend the avocado, the Vista Community Clinic team has the hearts of their community in the center of all they do. 

Join us for free blood pressure checks during Love Your Heart Week of Action February 11-19. Find screening sites across San Diego County, along with free workshops and community events. Visit LoveYourHeartSD.org.