Comprehensive Hypertension Center Again Rated Gold+ in High Blood Pressure Care
Article Summary
- For the second consecutive year, the UHealth Compehensive Hypertension Center has been honored with the AHA/American Medical Association Target: BP Gold+ Award.
- Half of all adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack, stroke and other serious conditions.
- The Comprehensive Hypertension Center is the only AHA-certified comprehensive hypertension center in South Florida that has received the BP Gold+ Award and AHA Comprehensive Hypertension Center Certification.
Around half of all adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure (hypertension). While the condition often goes undiscovered for years, it can increase the risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, dementia and many other conditions.
Maria Carolina Delgado-Lelievre, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is a distinguished hypertension specialist and founding director of the UHealth — University of Miami Health System Comprehensive Hypertension Center. It’s one of two hypertension Centers of Excellence in Florida. In September, the American Heart Association (AHA) reaccredited the facility with its Comprehensive Hypertension Center Certification, affirming the quality of their work.
Why AHA Certification Matters
The AHA certification confirms that the center meets the highest standards in diagnosing and treating hypertension, including resistant and complex cases.
As South Florida’s only AHA-certified center, the Comprehensive Hypertension Center provides specialized care, which offers hope to patients with resistant hypertension who have not responded to conventional therapies. The center’s expertise in using innovative devices to monitor blood pressure physiology allows for a more personalized and comprehensive approach to hypertension management. This is especially important in underserved and minority communities that may lack access to such advanced care.
The center’s certification enhances its role in conducting groundbreaking research, not only in advanced therapies but also in the development and implementation of cutting-edge devices that measure blood pressure physiology. These devices, which monitor real-time blood pressure variability, heart rate and circadian rhythms, enable the collection of detailed data, leading to better management of hypertension. The certification also strengthens the center’s ability to secure funding for these innovative research projects, advancing both hypertension care and cardiovascular health.
By addressing health disparities and focusing on improving health outcomes for diverse populations in South Florida, the center plays a critical role in offering advanced treatments and technologies that directly impact patient care. The use of innovative devices to monitor blood pressure and patient behavior ensures that even the most challenging hypertension cases are effectively managed, fostering trust and encouraging early intervention in at-risk populations.
The center’s expertise in new technologies, including innovative blood pressure monitoring devices, along with its advanced treatments like renal artery denervation, further strengthens its role as a hub for educating the next generation of health care professionals. It fosters collaboration between clinicians, researchers and students, positioning the center as a leader in both education and hypertension care innovation.
For the second consecutive year, the center has been honored with the AHA/American Medical Association Target: BP Gold+ Award. The designation recognizes the group’s ability to provide quality care and help patients maintain healthy blood pressure. The hypertension program is the only AHA-certified comprehensive hypertension center in South Florida that has both distinctions.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Delgado-Lelievre leading our Comprehensive Hypertension Center, an integral part of our Preventive Cardiology Center at the University of Miami,” said Yiannis Chatzizisis, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Miller School and UHealth chief of cardiovascular medicine. “Our programs take a holistic approach to patient care, addressing all cardiometabolic risk factors, such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and smoking. We are proud to offer our patients cutting-edge treatments, tailored to their individual needs, including both pharmacological and interventional therapies.”
Dr. Delgado-Lelievre recently wrote an editorial in the Miami Herald about hypertension and Hispanic people, and was a leading presenter at Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2024. She and UHealth colleagues are focused on improving hypertension care by reaching out to patients, sponsoring research and mentoring other centers to help them flourish and grow.
We spoke with Dr. Delgado-Lelievre about her work and the center.
Tell us a little about the Comprehensive Hypertension Center.
Only around 25% of people suffering from hypertension have their conditions under control. This is a serious problem because it’s a systemic issue. It goes wherever our blood goes in the body and that can lead to many overlapping health problems.
There are now several hypertension centers of excellence in the United States, which is an enormous advance. These centers address the best ways to treat patients, as well as conducting research, engaging with the community, creating health guidelines and influencing decision-making at hospitals.
How has hypertension care advanced?
For all patients, the first line of defense—Pillar I—is adopting a healthy lifestyle, which includes proper diet and regular exercise. Increasing physical activity and losing weight can significantly help manage blood pressure.
However, if lifestyle changes aren’t enough, we move to Pillar II, pharmacological intervention. Medications are selected based on each patient’s unique physiology and biochemistry, considering factors such as age gender, and the presence of other cardiovascular risks or diseases. Sometimes, finding the ideal match for a patient requires trying different drugs or combinations, as individual genetics, biochemistry and physiological drivers of hypertension vary. Personalizing care is essential.
In addition, we’re integrating innovative technology into routine blood pressure assessments, particularly 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, which is critical for understanding blood pressure physiology. This advanced technology, applied as a small sensor on the chest, allows us to evaluate blood pressure patterns over a 24-hour period without causing discomfort. This approach provides more accurate readings, offering a clearer picture of true blood pressure variability.
For some patients, lifestyle changes and medications alone are not enough to control hypertension, classifying them as having resistant hypertension. In these cases, we introduce Pillar III in our comprehensive approach to hypertension management: renal artery denervation, a procedure that helps control blood pressure independently of medication.
What was the buzz at Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2024?
There was a lot of excitement about renal denervation, a minimally invasive procedure that uses ultrasound to deaden the sympathetic nerves in the kidneys that influence blood pressure. In that way, it gets directly to the root of the problem.
The procedure is a good alternative for people who don’t respond to hypertension drugs or can’t take them because they’re sensitive to these medications. Historically, it’s been quite challenging to treat these patients, so this new procedure is incredibly important.
There was an educational section focused on renal denervation that was quite well-attended. I was invited to talk about the state of hypertension care and that led into a discussion of how the new procedure could change that landscape.
How does the Comprehensive Hypertension Center work with other centers?
Because we are one of the few centers to receive Gold+ status, we are mentoring other centers around the nation to help them achieve the same excellence. We had already been helping other groups establish comprehensive hypertension centers and we are eager to share what we know.
In addition, we recently submitted a proposal to sponsor fellowships to give cardiologists and other specialists more specialized hypertension training. It’s all part of keeping up the momentum and improving care.
Tags: cardiovascular, Comprehensive Hypertension Center, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dr. Maria Carolina Delgado-Lelievre, Dr. Yiannis Chatzizisis, USNWR Cardiovascular