Leaders at the National Kidney Foundation (NKH) and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA) recently announced their new partnership in fighting cardiovascular and kidney disease.
Health professionals consider the current statistics for cardiovascular and kidney disease within the U.S. to be at epidemic proportions. Thanks to the partnership, there is now a significant joint effort being made to fight the ongoing public health problem.
As part of the collaboration, the organizations will launch a joint hypertension awareness campaign, “The Domino Effect.” On April 25, the organizations will initiate a media campaign about how uncontrolled high blood pressure is a significant contributing risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and heart failure.
“High blood pressure is a silent risk factor for kidney disease and cardiovascular events. Improved treatment of high blood pressure can prevent stroke, kidney disease and heart disease," Dr. Joseph Vassalotti, Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation, said. “Working side-by-side with AHA, we will pool our resources to raise the volume on this important message to improve heart and kidney health in our communities.”
The campaign is designed to emphasize the number of complications that can arise from cardiovascular and kidney disease. It will also highlight the approaches that can be used to avoid these illnesses.
“Bringing together the knowledge and resources of these two prominent, long-standing health organizations, marks an important step in our continued work to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke,” Pablo A. Ortiz, Ph.D., Head of the Hypertension and Vascular Research Division at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and Chair of the American Heart Association Council on Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease, said. “AHA and NKF share common priorities and interests to reduce cardiovascular-related disability and death through research, communication, advocacy and education.”
