By making blood pressure cuffs as easily accessible as visiting your local library, and teaching people how to use them, this initiative is a great tool in helping people identify possible issues before an emergency occurs.
Richard J. Powell, MDPublic libraries have always been an important community resource, and a new program in New Hampshire is letting libraries add one more important asset to their lending opportunities: blood pressure cuffs.
High blood pressure is often referred to as “the silent killer.” Since it frequently has no symptoms, many people don’t know they have it. Five local libraries recently joined the Dartmouth Health and the American Heart Association’s New Hampshire chapter to make it easier for their patrons to keep track of their blood pressure to assess their risk of a heart attack or stroke.
“Dartmouth Health and the American Heart Association share the goal of empowering everyone to take good care of their cardiovascular health primarily through preventative means,” said Richard J. Powell, MD, director of Dartmouth Health’s Heart and Vascular Center. “By making blood pressure cuffs as easily accessible as visiting your local library, and teaching people how to use them, this initiative is a great tool in helping people identify possible issues before an emergency occurs.”
All of the following libraries will have blood pressure cuffs for library patrons to borrow to track their own blood pressure. These are helpful for people to see their blood pressure over a period of a week or two, especially if their doctor wants numbers from a range of days to confirm a diagnosis, or to monitor the effects of a medication or a lifestyle change. Most of the libraries will also have on-site stations where patrons can measure their blood pressure right at the library.
- Maxfield Public Library (Loudon)
- Hooksett Library
- Allenstown Public Library
- Derry Public Library (available in June)
- Merrimack Public Library
Libraries will have educational materials to share with patrons so they can learn more about blood pressure, and how to take their own blood pressure with these user-friendly cuffs. Please check with your local library to find out which services they offer.
“We are excited to work with Dartmouth Health to share the American Heart Association’s blood pressure education and resources to libraries,” said Rosemary Hendrickx, the Association’s development director in New Hampshire. “Blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease which is New Hampshire’s leading cause of death. Since high blood pressure often has no symptoms, there are very likely many people in our state with undiagnosed high blood pressure. Knowledge is power, and we’re so glad these local libraries have joined this initiative that will help prevent death and disability from both heart disease and stroke.”
Special screenings days will also be held where clinical staff from the Heart and Vascular Center – through its Community Awareness Research and Education (CARES) program – will conduct screenings, offer education, and provide referrals for patrons with high blood pressure. These screening days will be announced once they are scheduled.
"We wanted to participate in the Libraries with Heart Program because it will help our patrons access resources that will help them with their cardiovascular health,” said Christina Finemore, Maxfield Public Library’s director. “We are always trying to find new ways to engage our patrons while connecting them to tools that will lead to a healthy lifestyle."
Additional Resources:
- Understanding Blood Pressure Readings: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings
- How to Accurately Measure Blood Pressure at Home: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/05/22/how-to-accurately-measure-blood-pressure-at-home
- Health Threats from High Blood Pressure: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/health-threats-from-high-blood-pressure
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.