Each year, thousands of maternal women and their babies get sick from dangerous health conditions related to life-threatening high blood pressure disorders such as preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, HELLP syndrome, and eclampsia.
These serious conditions only occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period and are characterized by a rapid rise in blood pressure that can lead to seizures, stroke, multiple organ failure, and even death of the mother and/or baby. For women diagnosed with these conditions, it is critical that they monitor their blood pressure at home and report a rise in blood pressure to their maternal provider.
Several insurance companies do not cover the purchase of blood pressure cuffs for maternal women, causing a barrier to home-based monitoring for those who may not be able to afford an expensive automated blood pressure cuff.
Million Hearts® is a national initiative co-led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Million Hearts Health Equity Grant, has awarded UConn Health $50,000 which enabled us to purchase 1,000 automated Blood Pressure Cuff Kits™ to provide to our at-risk or high risk maternal patients. Our OB/GYN, Maternal Fetal Medicine, and Family Medicine practices are able to provide the Cuff Kit™ to these women, in real-time, allowing them to have this important tool to monitor their blood pressure at home and report any changes to their clinician.
