The American Heart Association has, for the first time, recognized outpatient care organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico for their efforts to help patients manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. The announcement, made via NEWMEDIAWIRE, highlights a growing national infrastructure for cardiovascular risk factor management. More than 2,700 healthcare organizations received recognition through Outpace CVD™, the Association's outpatient quality improvement portfolio.
The scale of the effort matters because cardiovascular disease remains one of the nation's most urgent health challenges. According to the Association's 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report, cardiovascular disease affects an estimated 130.6 million U.S. adults. High blood pressure alone affects 125.9 million adults, yet only 22% have it under control. These statistics underscore why the recognition of outpatient organizations is more than ceremonial: it reflects a systematic effort to improve the detection and treatment of modifiable risk factors in settings where most patients receive routine care.
Outpace CVD helps healthcare organizations improve management of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes through evidence-based resources and recognition programs, including Target: BP™, Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol™, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠. Collectively, participating organizations serve nearly 45.5 million patients, including millions at risk for cardiovascular disease. Over 1,750 organizations earned recognition in more than one Outpace CVD program, indicating that many care teams are addressing multiple risk factors simultaneously.
For 2026, nearly 2,700 organizations earned Target: BP recognition for efforts to improve blood pressure control. Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol recognized almost 1,000 organizations for cholesterol management, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes recognized more than 1,700 organizations for addressing cardiovascular risk in diabetes. These figures show that a substantial number of outpatient practices are adopting evidence-based protocols, which could translate into better population health outcomes over time.
"Many of the biggest opportunities to improve cardiovascular health begin in the outpatient setting," said Kevin Hwang, M.D., MPH, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association's Outpatient Quality Improvement Advisory Group. "Through Outpace CVD, care teams are applying evidence-based strategies that help patients better manage their cardiovascular risk factors." Hwang added that addressing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes is critical to improving cardiovascular health and that these organizations demonstrate how evidence-based care can improve outcomes.
The recognition across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico suggests that quality improvement efforts are not limited to academic medical centers or specific regions. Instead, they are reaching communities nationwide. For patients, this means more consistent access to guideline-directed care for conditions that often go undetected or uncontrolled. For the healthcare system, it signals a shift toward proactive management of cardiovascular risk factors in outpatient settings, which could reduce costly complications such as heart attacks and strokes. More information about the Association's outpatient quality improvement programs is available at heart.org/OutpaceCVD, and general heart health resources can be found at heart.org or stroke.org.
