Health Literacy and Cardiovascular Disease: Fundamental Relevance to Primary and Secondary Prevention
Published: June 04, 2018
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- Limited health literacy -- the degree to which individuals can access and process basic health information and services and participate in health-related decisions -- is highly prevalent in the U.S. and strongly associated with increased patient morbidity, mortality, health care utilization, and costs.
- This Scientific Statement summarizes the relevance of health literacy to cardiovascular (CV) health and suggests strategies that address barriers imposed by limited health literacy on the management and prevention of CV disease.
- The Statement proposes future directions for how health literacy can be integrated in the AHA’s mandate to advance CV treatment and research and improve patient care and public health.
Recommended Reading
- Basic Concepts and Potential Applications of Genetics and Genomics for Cardiovascular and Stroke Clinicians
- Enhancing Literacy in Cardiovascular Genetics: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
- Potential Impact and Study Considerations of Metabolomics in Cardiovascular Health and Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
- Transformative Impact of Proteomics on Cardiovascular Health and Disease
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Cardiovascular Disease Modeling and Precision Medicine: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association