Million Hearts Initiative: Heart Disease and Stroke

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease and stroke are the 1st and 5th leading causes of death and a major contributor to disability in the United States. One in three deaths are caused by heart attacks and strokes, resulting in over $300 billion of health care costs each year.

Lone Star Circle of Care was selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as one of 516 awardees in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes among millions of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Lone Stare Circle of Care and other health care practitioner organizations, participating in the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model, will work to decrease cardiovascular disease risk by assessing an individual patient’s risk for heart attack or stroke and applying prevention interventions.

Currently, many health care practitioners screen for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or other risk factors individually. In testing a new approach, practitioners participating in the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model’s intervention group will use a data-driven, widely accepted predictive modeling approach to generate personalized risk scores for patients and develop specific plans in partnership with patients to reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Each beneficiary will receive a personalized risk modification plan that will target his or her specific risk factors, including an explanation of the benefits (and risks) of each approach that is relevant to him or her.

For more information on the Million Hearts® initiative, please visit: https://millionhearts.hhs.gov.

To schedule an appointment with your Lone Star Circle of Care provider, please call 877-800-5722.