BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
Long revered as a place to keep your mind healthy with the power of reading, Kansas City Public Libraries will now help keep your body healthy as well.
The libraries, HCA Midwest Health, and the American Heart Association have teamed up to install blood pressure cuffs and testing kits available at nine of the city’s 10 library branches. An Aug. 30 press conference announced the new features now available.
“We are so proud of the work we’ve been able to do with HCA Midwest Health and Kansas City Public Libraries,” said Laura Lopez, executive director of the American Heart Association in Kansas City. “We are excited about what this will mean for Kansas City.”
Referred to as the “silent killer,” high blood pressure remains the leading cause of stroke, which is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability, according to a press release from the American Heart Association. Members of the Black and Hispanic communities are especially vulnerable to high blood pressure due to a lack of medical resources, according to Dr. Aaron Doonan of HCA Midwest Health.
“Over 52 percent of Hispanic men and over 42 percent of Hispanic women age 20 years and older have cardiovascular disease,” Lopez said. “We want to make resources and information about blood pressure accessible to everyone.”
Doonan said it’s not unusual for people with high blood pressure to never even know they have it.
“It’s like checking the oil in your car,” he explained. “If you didn’t do that, you could have a catastrophic problem. You have to check your blood pressure and know what your numbers are.”
When checking your blood pressure, Doonan said to make sure your arm is supported and your feet are flat on the ground, and always write down your readings in order to get a good idea of your blood pressure trends throughout the day.
Avoiding high blood pressure can be done with medications, he said, but “diet and exercise are the cornerstone of treatment for any hypertension patient.”
Education is key to maintaining good health as well, reminded Dr. Paul Hancock, CEO at Research Medical Center.
“One of the best ways to help a community is to provide knowledge and access,” Hancock said.
Doonan said the addition of the blood pressure cuffs and other resources related to blood pressure now available at the libraries will empower more people to take control of their health – especially those in the Hispanic community.
“We have a big underserved population. Most of our Hispanic patients don’t even know they have these problems,” Doonan said. “They might come in having never taken a medication, and suddenly they’re going home with five different pills. This will be really beneficial for that population of people.”
Library patrons may check out the blood pressure testing kits with their Kansas City Libraries card. For more information, visit the American Heart Association at www.heart.org and HCA Midwest Health at www.hcamidwest.com.
