High Blood Pressure Resources: Home

Introduction

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Alabama Department of Health (ADPH) rank heart disease as the leading cause of death in Alabama regardless of any demographic category. United Health Foundation (UHF) and CDC state that Alabama has particularly high rates of cardiovascular deaths: UHF ranks Alabama 49 out of 50 and CDC ranks Alabama's incidence rate 4th in the nation with a rate of 223.2 to the national rate of 165.

America's Health Rankings states that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a "major modifiable risk for heart disease and stroke." Indeed, Alabama's high blood pressure rates far exceed national averages across all demographics, including race and ethnicity, urbanicity, gender, age, and income. The populations most affected by high blood pressure are African Americans, American Indian/Alaskan Natives, people aged 45 and older, those with ony a high school education and those with less than a high school education, and people earning less than $50,000. However, all other demographic groups have sufficiently high hypertension rates to warrant concern.

The link between high blood pressure and heart disease and cardiovascular deaths is well established. Controlling or preventing high blood pressure is a major factor in preventing serious health problems like stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney failure. This LibGuide is intended to provide:

• Collection development guidance to Alabama's public libraries;
• Useful links to high-quality electronic resources for use by public librarians and their patrons; and,
• Materials related to diet and nutrition (including cookbooks) and exercise that specifically address heart health or are intended for at-risk groups.

This guide is not intended to be exhaustive. New materials will be added as they are discovered or published. Please contact your local library or APLS' reference staff with questions or to find materials available at your local library.