UW Health: Hospital and clinics recognized as a national leader in hypertension treatment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2014

CONTACT: Gian Galassi

(608) 263-5561

ggalassi@uwhealth.org

MADISON—The Advanced Hypertension Program at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics was recently named a Designated Comprehensive Hypertension Center by the American Society of Hypertension (ASH). The designation recognizes academic medical centers and/or large multi-specialty clinics as leaders in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure. UW’s program is now one of only 13 programs in the country, and the only program in Wisconsin, Iowa or Minnesota, to receive this recognition.



The UW Health Advanced Hypertension Program comprises a multidisciplinary team of hypertension physician-experts, including cardiologists, preventive cardiologists, nephrologists, as well as consultants in endocrinology and vascular surgery. Patients receive personalized treatment plans that are delivered in collaboration with a team of nurses, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and a psychologist who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. The objective of the program is to help prevent the complications that can result from hypertension, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure.



“Our multidisciplinary team of experts was specifically developed to detect, assess, and treat the most challenging forms of hypertension before it leads to more serious complications in our patients,” says Dr. James Stein, UW cardiologist and co-director of the program. “Being recognized as a national leader is a testament to our team’s commitment to this goal and will only serve to strengthen our position at the forefront of innovative patient care.”



According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 67 million American adults (31 percent) have high blood pressure and only about half (47percent) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.



ASH is the largest organization in the U.S. of hypertension researchers and health care providers committed to preventing and treating hypertension and its consequences. ASH has a domestic and international membership of basic science and clinical investigators, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, as well as individuals with a scientific interest in hypertension.