A year ago, APhA became a national partner in Million Hearts, a campaign headed by CDC and CMS to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over 5 years by teaching patients the ABCS—appropriate aspirin therapy, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, and smoking cessation.

We’ve supported Million Hearts with efforts such as the APhA Foundation’s Pharmacy Blood Pressure Challenge, a screening and education initiative launched this summer to motivate pharmacists to talk with one patient per day about the patient’s blood pressure control.

Now, as part of Million Hearts, we’re joining a new pharmacy-based hypertension program, Team Up. Pressure Down. Developed by CDC with national pharmacy groups and other stakeholders, the program offers resources to support pharmacists in counseling patients with high blood pressure to improve medication adherence and hypertension control.

Today at 10:00 am ET, Team Up. Pressure Down. launches with a live webinar hosted by Janet Wright, MD, FACC, Executive Director of Million Hearts, with opening remarks by Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, the U.S. Surgeon General. I’ll be in attendance at the event, along with Mindy Smith, BSPharm, Executive Director of the APhA Foundation. The first 15–20 minutes will target media folks, but the remaining time will be devoted to pharmacists and other stakeholders interested in learning more.

The launch webinar will be followed by four free live webinars for which pharmacists can earn 1 hour of continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credit. These four CPE webinars are scheduled for today at 12:00 pm ET, September 6 at 10:00 am ET, September 11 at 8:00 pm ET, and September 12 at 9:00 pm ET.

Team Up. Pressure Down. is the latest example of federal health leaders recognizing the pharmacist’s role in patient care. This is an opportunity for pharmacists, and I encourage you to participate.