February is American Heart Month! Since 1964, American Heart Month has been a time to share awareness about cardiovascular disease and promote preventative measures for the leading cause of death in the United States. There are many ways to participate in American Heart and so many great resources out there that make it easy to spread awareness!
1. Participate in National Wear Red Day
Organizations around the country celebrate National Wear Red Day® on the first Friday in February every year to spread awareness for heart disease, especially among women. Encourage your staff to participate by wearing red shirts, pins, or ribbons. The NIH has images, GIFs, and social media posts ready to go that your pharmacy can share! They also have stickers that you can get printed and hand out to your patients!
2. Educate on hypertension
Undetected or uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems over time. Educating patients on how to properly monitor blood pressure and encouraging your patient to be vigilant about their hypertension is another way to spread awareness during American Heart Month. Here are tips and resources for spreading awareness on hypertension.
- Remind patients that you offer blood pressure checks at your pharmacy.
- Educate patients on the proper way to measure blood pressure at home.
- Encourage physical activity with this downloadable guide from the CDC.
- Print blood pressure fact sheets from the American Heart Association.
Utilize these sample social posts and graphics from the NIH.
3. Encourage medication adherence
Medication adherence is crucial for patients with cardiovascular disease, yet many struggle to stay on track with their medications.
The American Heart Association reports that 24% of heart attack patients don’t fill their prescriptions within seven days of discharge.
While medication adherence is critical to emphasize year-round, American Heart Month is a great time to reflect on ways you can make it easier for your patients to refill and take their medications as prescribed.
Here are a few ways you can help your patients stay on track:
Enable online refills
Allowing patients to refill prescriptions online simplifies the process, reducing barriers that may prevent patients from staying on track with their medications. By allowing patients to request refills from home at any time, you help ensure they never miss a dose due to inconvenience.
Send refill reminders
Refill and pickup reminders help patients stay consistent with their medication regimen, reducing the risk of missed doses. Whether sent via email, text or automated IVR calls these reminders serve as an essential tool to keep patients engaged and adherent.
Offer home delivery
By offering home delivery, you eliminate a common challenge to medication adherence—accessibility. Patients with cardiovascular disease, who may be at higher risk for complications from illnesses, benefit from the convenience of having their medications delivered, ensuring they have what they need without added stress or exposure.
Provide specialty services
Services like Medication Therapy Management (MTM) and Medication Sync help patients better manage their prescriptions. MTM provides one-on-one support to address medication concerns, side effects, and potential interactions, while Medication Sync ensures all prescriptions are refilled at the same time, reducing the risk of missed or delayed doses.
Share videos and digital resources
Providing digital access to medication information empowers patients with the knowledge they need to take their prescriptions correctly. With resources like Medication Guides and medication videos, patients can better understand their treatment plan, reinforcing adherence by making complex information more accessible.
4) Spread awareness on social media for American Heart Month
With so many health organizations participating in American Heart Month, resources are abundant to help you with social media ideas. Here are a few organizations to check out for social media ideas!
The National National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has many social media resources with pre-made social posts:
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#OurHearts – A campaign focusing on self-care and heart health
The CDC and Alliance for the Million Hearts® have a partner toolkit focusing on heart-healthy habits for seniors. This toolkit includes video PSAs, social media messages, print material, and digital communications copy that can be utilized on your websites and social media platforms.
Need assistance with your social media strategy?
Our marketing experts can help you spread awareness on Heart Month — or any other initiatives you want to promote to patients and members of your community.
