Project 2: ACHIEVE- HF

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most common, costly, and deadly diseases affecting humans. Hypertension is the largest single risk factor for HF, accounting for over half of all new cases. Accordingly, early interventions to prevent HF, in particular blood pressure (BP) control, are critical. However, implementation of effective treatments remains suboptimal, especially in Detroit, Michigan. To better engage the at-risk community, the team developed an innovative mobile health unit (MHU) program that uses geospatial health and area-level exposure data to direct health services to communities in highest need, who may not otherwise engage with traditional health care settings. Another key to preventing HF is usage of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), not only for treating high BP, but also providing medications proven to reduce HF incidence. In particular, inhibitors of sodium-glucose transporter type 2 (SGLT2) prevent HF and loss of kidney function in at-risk patients. Yet, these are dramatically under-utilized, further contributing to health disparities. Project 2 of ACHIEVE GREATER uses a pragmatic, randomized, unblinded, clinical trial to implement and test a novel intervention leveraging our MHU platform to improve care access combined with enhanced collaborative care delivery among patients with Stage A HF (defined as asymptomatic individuals with known pre-conditions such as hypertension who are at-risk for later-stage clinical HF). The key components of the program are 1) a personalized intervention conducted by community health workers that links patients with available community resources, and 2) pharmacist-directed therapy optimization per a standardized GDMT protocol. This intervention will address multiple domains and levels of impact to reduce the large gaps in care of stage-A HF patients in the community and prevent progression towards symptomatic HF.