AHA, ACC Issue New Performance, Quality Measures for BP Management

The American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) have released a report containing new clinical performance and quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in adults.

A total of 22 new measures were included in their report, including 6 performance measures, 6 process quality measures, and 10 structural quality measures. The structural quality measures in particular comprise a new category of measures designed to improve the ability to properly implement the AHA/ACC’s 2017 hypertension guidelines.

According to the authors of the report, an estimated 46% of US adults have hypertension, while an additional 12% have elevated blood pressure (BP) that could progress to hypertension. The authors noted that, when implemented effectively, this measure set will result in “significant improvements in effective detection and treatment of [high BP] for millions of people across the United States.”

Measures described in the report include the use of a standard protocol to consistently and correctly measure BP in the ambulatory setting, the use of a standard process for assessing risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and the use of an electronic health record to accurately diagnose and assess high blood pressure control, among several other measures.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
Casey Jr DE, Thomas RJ, Bhalla V, et al. 2019 AHA/ACC clinical performance and quality measures for adults with high blood pressure: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Performance Measures. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2019;12:e000057. doi:10.1161/HCQ.000000000000005.