Take Control

A Newsletter to Promote Healthy

Living for High Blood Pressure Control

DON’T LET HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL YOU—TAKE CONTROL Fall 2015

Take Control project seeks volunteers in Desha County

If you or someone you know is worried about high blood pressure, a project in Desha County may be helpful.

The project, created by the Arkansas Prevention Research Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is testing a method to help people control their blood pressure. If it works, it could be used other places in Arkansas and in the US. People who live in Desha County with high blood pressure are invited to take part in the study.

It is free to join and does not take much time. To take part, a person must be between the ages of 18 and 59 and have high blood pressure, as tested at a free screening offered by the project.

High blood pressure is a common problem. Because there may not be any signs, a person can have high blood pressure and not know it. It is easily controlled with the right care, but uncontrolled high blood pressure raises your risk for stroke and heart attack.

Linda Austin, who lives in Desha County and is a community health worker with the Arkansas Department of Health, encourages people to join the study.

“Uncontrolled high blood pressure has caused heart disease, stroke and death in our communities,” Austin said. “I totally support this project by UAMS, which will try to raise awareness about high blood pressure and lower its risks and health care costs. It is a wonderful study for people in Desha County to be part of. I encourage those who suspect their blood pressure is high and uncontrolled to see if they are able to take part in the study.”

The Arkansas Prevention Research Center is doing this project with help from local groups, leaders, residents and health workers.

Partnering groups are Phoenix Youth and Family Services, Tri-County Rural Health Network, Greater Delta Alliance for Health, Mid-Delta Community Consortium, the Arkansas Department of Health, the Desha Hometown Health Improvement Project, Delta Memorial Hospital, McGehee Hospital, Daughters of Charity, McGehee’s and Dumas’s chambers of commerce and their mayors.

For more information about the project or how to join, call 870-273-8937.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSUREDo you know your numbers?

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a serious health issue. The blood pressure is the force

of blood that is pushed against the blood vessels as the heart pumps blood. High blood pressure occurs when the blood pressure rises and stays high. If not treated, high blood pressure can hurt the body and over time can cause heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, harm to the eyes, and other health problems. A person with high blood pressure doesn’t always have symptoms, which is why it is often called, “the silent killer.”

High blood pressure can take about fi ve years off a person’s life. Taking control of your blood pressure can help you live longer. High blood pressure doesn’t have to control your life, when you TAKE CONTROL.

Get your blood pressure checked often to fi nd out if it is normal, high or in between. Your blood pressure has two numbers. The meaning of each is in the chart below.

Free Blood Pressure Screenings

For your health, it is important to know if your blood pressure is too high. The Take Control study is offering free blood pressure screenings. There is no obligation of any kind to get a screening.

For locations and dates of free screenings, or for information about the Take Control study, call

Irene Mitchell at 870-273-8937 or LaToyic Mack-Barnes at 870-253-9497.

• Training and Technical Assistance – provides education and skills to help public health practitioners, researchers, and community organizations find ways to improve the community’s health.

• Evaluation – measures how well the ARPRC is performing, where our strengths and weaknesses are, and how we can improve the health of Arkansans.

The Center also has a research project, Take Control, that is just now getting underway in Desha County. Its purpose is to test a method to help people control their blood pressure. You can read about it on the other side of this newsletter.

Improving the health of all Arkansans does take a collaborative approach. Everyone has a part of the solution and all of us – public health researchers, public health practitioners, and community members – learn from one another. Working together, we can improve health in Arkansas communities.

To learn more about the Arkansas Prevention Research Center, you can go to our website (www.uams.edu/prc/). If you have questions for me, please feel free to email me at RaczynskiJamesM@uams.edu.

Arkansas Prevention Research Center

Introducing the Arkansas Prevention Research Center

By Jim Raczynski, PhD, Director Arkansas Prevention Research Center

Better health for you, your family and community, and our state

takes all of us working together. The Arkansas Prevention Research Center, which is based at the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is dedicated to better health for all Arkansans.

What is the Arkansas Prevention Research Center?The Center tries to find better ways to keep people from getting chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. It is especially focused on the health of people who live in rural areas, because those people often have less resources and health care needed to stay healthy. The Center started in 2009 and is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Past projects include an assessment of food access in 19 Delta counties, a new school playground in Hamburg and a new program for parents of young children to help them be more physically active.

Who is part of the ARPRC?The Center’s success depends on strong partnerships with public health researchers, public health workers, and community members who share the same vision for community health. Partnering organizations include the Desha Hometown Health Improvement Project, Phoenix Youth and Family Services, and the Arkansas Department of Health.

What does the ARPRC do?There are four main units of the ARPRC: • Community Engagement and Partnerships – works

with organizations and agencies to collaborate and coordinate projects and initiatives that benefit public health research, practice, and the community’s health.

• Communications – provides public health and health care information to researchers, public health practitioners, and the community.

Jim Raczynski

ARPRC Staff: Irene Mitchell, Charity Harris, Lennia Clark, LaToyic Mack-Barnes

UAMS College of Public Health

UAMS COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH Fall 2015

Community, Academic &

Public Health Partnerships

This newsletter is a product of Arkansas Prevention Research Center supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 1 U48DO005005-00 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings and conclusions in this newsletter are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH