Heart health: Speaking up about a "silent" disease

2-minute read

As February is Heart Health Month, we’re spreading the word about the importance of healthy blood pressure numbers for this all-important muscle.

Your heart is the hardest working muscle in your body. It circulates, on average, more than 2,000 gallons of blood each day to your tissues and organs, pushed through arteries, veins and capillaries.

Nearly half of U.S. adults have the “silent disease” of high blood pressure, aka hypertension. Left untreated, it causes tiny tears in the walls of these blood vessels, damaging your cardiovascular system. This can lead to heart attack, stroke and other health problems, such as vision loss, sexual dysfunction and kidney disease.

Hypertension has no obvious symptoms, so you may not know you have it.

“Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure,” says the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

That’s why it’s important to check your blood pressure regularly. The new Hello Heart at-home monitoring program available through the HealthSelect of Texas^® medical plans can help.

Jason Henderson, an employee at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, found out he had dangerously high blood pressure almost by accident, and with encouragement from a coworker followed up with his doctor. He shares his story in this short video.

Hello Heart gives you a blood pressure cuff, access to a smartphone app and recommendations to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. Hello Heart can help you track and manage hypertension, although only a health care professional can make a diagnosis.

With Hello Heart, you can:

• Track your blood pressure, cholesterol and medications.

• Keep track of how daily actions impact your heart health.

• Get personalized tips from a digital health coach.

• Download a detailed report of your heart health to share with your primary care provider.

Almost 38,000 state employees have signed up since the program launched in September. Here’s what they’re saying:

Ready to sign up? HealthSelect of Texas^® medical plan participants who are age 18 and older and living in the U.S., including those enrolled in Consumer Directed HealthSelect^SM, are eligible to enroll. See more information on the Hello Heart care management page on the HealthSelect website.

Check out this related webinar: Healthy Heart, Healthy You