Highlights blood pressure as an important leading-indicator for
long-term health
BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
In recognition of National Heart Health Month, Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:
AMED) urges Americans to take one simple step toward improving their
long-term health that starts with the heart – take ownership of managing
their blood pressure.
Blood is carried from the heart to all parts of the body in vessels
called arteries. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing
against the walls of the arteries. High blood pressure has no symptoms,
and is sometimes called “the silent killer.” If you have high blood
pressure (also called hypertension), the heart is forced to work harder,
arteries are overworked and the chances of stroke, heart attack and
kidney problems are greater. In addition, if you have a pre-existing
condition such as coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) or diabetes, you are at an even greater risk for
complications.
Key facts (Source: Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention):
-
About one out of three U.S. adults has high blood pressure.
-
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke,
congestive heart failure, and kidney disease.
-
In 2010, high blood pressure cost the United States$76.6 billion in
health care services, medications, and missed days of work.
In addition, a recent study showed that home health monitoring may
significantly improve blood pressure control. Patients in the home
monitoring group were 50 percent more likely to have their blood
pressure controlled to healthy levels compared to the usual care group.
(The study was led by Kaiser
Permanente - Colorado in collaboration with the American Heart
Association and Microsoft Corp.)
“The one critical step we’d like to educate people about to help improve
their long-term health during heart health month is taking ownership of
managing blood pressure to their personal goal,” said Michael Fleming,
M.D., FAAFP and chief medical officer for Amedisys. “Your blood pressure
impacts everything else in your body since it indicates how your blood
is flowing - so no matter your existing condition, keeping your blood
pressure at your personal goal is one of the most important leading
indicators for maintaining your health,” he concluded.
Dr. Fleming also provides three important steps to help you take
ownership of managing your blood pressure during heart health month and
beyond:
a) Book an appointment with your doctor to talk about your blood
pressure. Ask your doctor what is your goal for a healthy blood
pressure. It can vary based on your health status. If your blood
pressure is higher than desired, discuss a plan of action to keep it
under control. Take notes from the conversation, including your personal
blood pressure goal and your blood pressure management plan.
b)Monitor your blood pressure and keep a record. High
blood pressure has no symptoms. So if you have hypertension, talk to
your healthcare provider about monitoring your blood pressure at home.
When you go for your health visits, make sure your health care provider
checks your blood pressure each time and that you record what it is.
c) Follow the basic high blood pressure prevention guidelines: Stop
smoking, eat healthy foods, maintain a healthy body weight, exercise and
limit your salt intake.
To help you take ownership of managing your blood pressure, Amedisys has
provided a downloadable tool on its website that includes questions to
ask your doctor about your blood pressure. To download your copy, please
visit: www.Amedisys.com/ManagingBP.
About Amedisys:
Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is a leading health care company focused
on bringing home the continuum of care. Amedisys delivers personalized
health care services to patients and their families in the comfort of
patients' homes, with approximately 10 million patient care and
education encounters per year. Amedisys has two divisions, home health
care and hospice. The Company's state-of-the-art advanced chronic care
management programs and leading-edge technology enables it to deliver
quality care based upon the latest evidence-based best practices.
Amedisys is a recognized innovator, being one of the first in the
industry to equip its clinicians with point-of-care laptop technology
and referring physicians with an internet portal that enables real-time
coordination of patient care seamlessly. Amedisys also has the
industry's first-ever nationwide Care Transitions program. Amedisys Care
Transitions is designed to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions
through patient and caregiver health coaching and care coordination,
which starts in the hospital and continues throughout completion of the
patient's home health plan of care. For more information about the
Company, please visit: http://www.amedisys.com.
This press release includes statements that may constitute
"forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe,"
"estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate" or similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements. Many of the factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences are described in the Company's periodic
reports and registrations statements filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, and include, but are not limited to the following:
general economic and business conditions, changes in or failure to
comply with existing regulations or the inability to comply with new
government regulations on a timely basis, changes in Medicare and other
medical reimbursement levels, ability to complete acquisitions announced
from time to time, and any financing related thereto, the ability to
meet debt service requirements and to comply with covenants in debt
agreements, adverse changes in federal and state laws relating to the
health care industry, demographic changes, availability and terms of
capital, ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, ongoing
development and success of new start-ups, ability to successfully
integrate newly acquired agencies, changes in estimates and judgments
associated with critical accounting policies, business disruption due to
natural disasters or acts of terrorism, and various other matters, many
of which are beyond management's control. By making these
forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to
update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this
release.
Our company website address is http://www.amedisys.com.
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information. Important information, including press releases, analyst
presentations and financial information regarding the Company is
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Company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a
filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") disclosing
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Conduct and the charters for the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and
Governance Committees of our Board are also available on the Investor
Relations subpage of our website (under the link "Corporate Governance").
Amedisys, Inc.
Media Contact:
Jacqueline ChenValencia, 225-252-5091
Marketing & Communications
[email protected]
Source: Amedisys, Inc.