HeartBeatCA Program​

​Progra​m Backgrou​nd

In 2023, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) was awarded a five-year cooperative agreement (July 2023 through June 2028) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “National Cardiovascular Health Program” (CDC-RFA-DP-23-0004), known in California as “HeartBeatCA.” 

The purpose of HeartBeatCA is to support public health efforts to improve the health and quality of life for Californian’s diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension (HTN), and high blood cholesterol (HBC). HeartBeatCA integrates and implements health equity solutions to address the needs of priority populations that are disproportionately underserved, uninsured, and underinsured, with or at risk of, HTN and HBC. The priority populations include adults 18 years and older with a particular focus on census tract levels with high CVD prevalence rates. 

In 2021, eight million (24.6%) adults in California had HTN and nine million (30.9%) had HBC. The HeartBeatCA Program priority populations include African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and Hispanics. The prevalence of HTN was highest among non-Hispanic African American adults at 33%.

Program Approach

HeartBeatCA’s three key strategies include:

• Track and monitor clinical measures shown to improve health and wellness as well as health care quality and identify patients with HTN and HBC. 
  

• Implement team-based care to prevent, detect, control, and manage HTN and HBC. 

• Link community resources and clinical services that support comprehensive bidirectional referral and follow-up systems aimed at mitigating social services and support barriers for optimal health outcomes. ​
  

The HeartBeatCA Program collaborates with local partners, including:

• Monterey County​ Local Health Department, Clinical Services Bureau

• Touro University, Clinic and Community Services (Solano County)
  

• Dignity Health, Center for Healthier Communities (Los Angeles County)

​In addition, statewide HeartBeatCA partners and stakeholders include:

• American Heart A​ssociation, Southern California

• American Heart Association, Northern California

• ​California Department of Public Health Chronic Disease Programs

Healthy Hearts California Learning Collaborative (HHC LC)

​A key component of the HeartBeatCA Program is the organizing and convening of a Learning Collaborative (LC) that will work closely together, over the course of 2-4 years, to develop and implement a California Hypertension and High Blood Cholesterol Action Plan {“Action Plan”).

A Learning Collaborative is a group of public health entities, health systems, health care providers, and community leaders and their partners with experience working to address and implement evidence-based or evidence-informed practices for CVD prevention, detection, control, and management. CDPH’s role regarding the LC is to bring together relevant stakeholders and to facilitate the communication and the exchange of ideas between all interested entities.

In April and May 2024, two virtual HHC LC meetings were held to begin discussions around topics to address and work on the Action Plan Template, a key component of the Action Plan. The four topic areas are Data & Technology; Community-Clinical Linkages; Policy & Systems; and Team-Based Care. An in-person meeting of the HHC LC was held on June 25–26, 2024, and key materials from this meeting are below.

CDPH looks forward to continuing to work with the partners and stakeholders involved with the HHC LC as we move forward with the development of the Action Plan.

Contacts: HeartBeatCA@cdph.ca.gov / Melba.Hinojosa@cdph.ca.gov
CDPH HeartBeatCA program webpage.

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