Summit Medical Group Joins AMGA's Measure Up/Pressure Down Campaign in National Efforts to Improve Blood Pressure Control

Berkeley Heights, NJ (PRWEB) May 15, 2014

High blood pressure is called the silent killer because the first symptom may be a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. One in three American adults has high blood pressure—also called hypertension—but fewer than half of those adults have it under control.

Summit Medical Group is taking part in the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Measure Up/Pressure Down national campaign and National Day of Action to improve high blood pressure prevention, detection, and control. Measure Up/Pressure Down and the National Day of Action campaigns encourage everyone to have his or her blood pressure measured by a health care provider at least once a year and aim for a reading of 140 over 90 or lower.

As part of the Measure Up/Pressure Down initiative, Summit Medical Group will boost awareness of high blood pressure to the public and staff members over the next few years. This will include lifestyle changes that Measure Up/Pressure Down promotes, such as:

• Maintaining a normal weight
• Exercising regularly, at least 30 minutes, three times a week
• Following the DASH diet, a low-salt eating plan (http://www.dashdiet.org)
• Drinking alcohol only in moderation, if you drink
• Taking medications as prescribed

“Measure Up/Pressure Down is about saving lives,” says Jamie Reedy, MD, the program’s lead physician at Summit Medical Group and a population health expert who studies the health outcomes of groups of people. “We know that if high blood pressure is treated properly, it will enhance the health of our community.”

Spearheaded by the American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF), AMGA's nonprofit education and research arm, Measure Up/Pressure Down mobilizes medical groups and health systems to achieve the goal of having 80 percent of their patients with high blood pressure under control by 2016. The campaign seeks to bring together national partners to work collectively to provide their patients and their communities information and tools that facilitate lifestyle changes, medication adherence, and other keys to successful blood pressure control. The central mission of the campaign is to encourage medical groups and organized systems of care to adopt one or more evidence-based care processes that lead to measurable improvements in high blood pressure outcomes. Nearly 150 AMGA medical groups and health systems delivering care to more than 42 million patients have joined Measure Up/Pressure Down.

“We are extremely proud of Summit Medical Group, an American Medical Group Association member, for its commitment to blood pressure control on the National Day of Action and throughout the entire year,” said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Medical Group Association (AMGA). “Summit Medical Group and nearly 150 fellow AMGA members are working daily to improve high blood pressure rates and ultimately patient health, in conjunction with our Measure Up/Pressure Down® campaign.”

“We want to be proactive about identifying and treating individuals who have high blood pressure,” says Dr. Reedy. “By measuring, monitoring, and maintaining this condition, we can reduce its serious health complications.”
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About the Measure Up/Pressure Down Campaign

The American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF), the nonprofit arm of the American Medical Group Association, launched Measure Up/Pressure Down-a three-year national campaign to improve care and reduce the burden of high blood pressure on November 29, 2012. Measure Up/Pressure Down includes nearly 150 medical groups, health systems and national partners such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and Geisinger Health System. The goal of the three-year campaign is to have 80 percent of high blood pressure patients in control of their condition by 2016. http://www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com

About Summit Medical Group

Summit Medical Group (SMG) is the largest privately held multispecialty medical practice in New Jersey. SMG maintains a 42-acre healthcare campus in Berkeley Heights and 37 additional practice locations in Essex, Hudson, Morris, Somerset, and Union counties. As an East Coast premier multispecialty group, SMG has provided exceptional primary and specialty care since 1929. For more, visit http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com.

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