The Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Division's mission is to prevent and reduce heart disease and stroke in South Carolina. We strive to achieve systems and environmental change by:
- Increasing control of high blood pressure, primarily in adults and older adults;
- Increasing control of high blood cholesterol, primarily in adults and older adults;
- Increasing knowledge of signs and symptoms for heart attack and stroke and the importance of calling
9-1-1; - Improving emergency response;
Useful Information
- Register Now for the 8th Annual Diabetes/Heart Disease & Stroke Winter Symposium, March 5-6, 2010, Myrtle Beach, SC. (pdf)
- Click here for information on American Heart Month
- See agenda (pdf) for the Stroke Systems of Care Study Committee meeting on Dec. 9.
- Improving quality of heart disease and stroke care; and
- Eliminating health disparities in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, geography, or socio-economic status.
Based on the overwhelming toll that Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) takes on our state’s citizens, DHEC’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Division, in collaboration with its partners, is committed to addressing the challenges of this disease. In 2004, numerous deaths among South Carolinians were attributed to the primary components of CVD: 25 deaths per day from heart disease, and seven deaths per day from stroke. During 2004, 12,597 people died from cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for our state citizens – more than the total number of people who died from all cancers, pneumonia, influenza, and car accidents combined. The financial burden for the 74,000 South Carolinians with CVD who visited hospitals amounted to $2.8 billion, or 55% of the state’s total health budget, for the fiscal year ending in 2004.
The Division is located within the Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention and is part of a network of chronic disease prevention programs aiming to improve the health of our communities across South Carolina. Please use the menu at the top of the page to learn more about our program.
For additional information, please contact:
Betsy Crick, Public Information Coordinator - 803.545.4496