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Cardiovascular Health

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Cardiovascular Health

  • Cardiovascular Health Home
  • CVH Data and Trends
  • CVH Programs & Resources
  • Minnesota 2035 Plan
  • Minnesota Stroke Program
  • About Us

Learn More

  • About Heart Attacks
  • About Heart Disease
  • About High Blood Pressure
  • About High Cholesterol
  • About Stroke

Related Topics

  • Chronic Conditions
  • Diabetes
  • Nutrition
  • Physical Activity
  • Tobacco

 

Contact Info
Cardiovascular Health Program
health.heart@state.mn.us
health.stroke@state.mn.us

Contact Info

Cardiovascular Health Program
health.heart@state.mn.us
health.stroke@state.mn.us

Cardiovascular Health Indicator
Measure: Optimal Vascular Care

Indicator Date of Most Recent Measure Current Measure Trend
Percentage of patients ages 18-75 with vascular disease who reached four treatment goals to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease: 2020 53.8% Getting Worse
Blood pressure less than 140/90 mmHg 2020 76.9% Getting Worse
Statin use as recommended 2020 90.9% Stable
Documented tobacco-free status 2020 82.0% Stable
Aspirin use as recommended 2020 88.0% Getting Worse
 
  • Overview
  • Analysis
  • Other Resources
  • Data Source & Definitions
 

Overview

    The Optimal Vascular Care measure is a set of four patient care goals that, when reached together, represent the gold standard for managing vascular disease. They are:

    1. Blood pressure less than 140/90 mmHg

    2. Statin use as recommended

    3. Documented tobacco-free status

    4. Aspirin use as recommended

  • Reaching all four goals greatly lowers the risk for the health problems associated with vascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

  • In 2020, 53.8% of Minnesota adults ages 18-75 with vascular disease met all four patient care goals.This is a historic large decline in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Patients were most likely to meet the statin and aspirin use goals, and less likely to meet the blood pressure control and tobacco-free status goals.
  • There were large disparities in meeting these care goals by race -- American Indian and African American/African Born patients were less likely to meet the four goals -- and by type of insurance – patients with Minnesota Health Program coverage or the uninsured were also less likely to meet the four goals.

See Also:

What is Heart Disease?

What is Stroke?


 
 

Analysis

Table 1 shows performance for the Optimal Vascular Care measure overall plus the individual care goals that constitute the measure from 2015 through 2020. For each of the last three years, both the overall measure and aspirin component have trended down significantly. Both the blood pressure and tobacco free components trended down between 2016 and 2017. However, this most recent year showed a historic decline in performance on this measure, due largely to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall performance dropped by 6.5 percentage points, driven largely by large declines in blood pressure control (-6.9 percentage points) and appropriate aspirin use (-2.9 percentage points). MDH recommends consulting the 2020 Optimal Vascular Care Issue Brief and the individual annual reports from Minnesota Community Measurement listed in the Other Resources tab for more information on comparing performance from year to year.

Table 1: Optimal Vascular Care Measure and Individual Care Goal Performance among Minnesota Adults with Ischemic Vascular Disease, 2015-2020

Year % Meeting all Goals % at Blood Pressure Goal % at Aspirin Use Goal % at Tobacco-free Goal % at Statin Prescription Goal
2015 66.0% 84.7% 96.5% 83.4% 94.5%
2016 61.6% 84.1% 93.6% 82.5% 90.9%
2017 61.5% 83.5% 93.3% 82.4% 91.6%
2018 61.1% 83.7% 92.5% 82.4% 91.6
2019 60.3% 83.8% 90.9% 82.5% 91.6%
2020 53.8% 76.9% 88.0% 82.0% 90.9%

In 2020, the percentage of adults with ischemic vascular disease who achieve all Optimal Vascular Care goals is much lower among African American/African Born, American Indian, and multi-racial Minnesotans than the statewide average. Asian Minnesotans are significantly more likely to achieve all Optimal Vascular Care goals than the statewide average. These disparities are shown in Table 2. These differences between race groups have persisted since 2014 when these data were first reported. Unlike previous years, Latinx/Hispanic Minnesotans, who can be of any race, were just as likely to meet all Optimal Vascular Care goals as the statewide average. Details on changes in performance by race and ethnicity from 2019 to 2020 can be found in the 2020 Optimal Vascular Care Issue Brief listed in the Other Resources tab.

 

Table 2: Optimal Vascular Care Goals among Minnesota Adults with Ischemic Vascular Disease by Race, 2020

Race % Meeting all four goals
American Indian 45.5%
Asian 59.9%
African American/African Born 40.3%
Multi-Racial 45.6%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 56.6%
White 54.4%

Adults with ischemic vascular disease who have Medicare or commercial insurance are most likely to achieve all of the Optimal Vascular Care goals, performing 11 to 16 percentage points better than those on Minnesota Health Care programs. Uninsured patients are the least likely to meet Optimal Vascular Care goals, 6 percentage points lower than Minnesota Health Care program beneficiaries. These differences are shown in Table 3 below. Again, details on changes in performance by type of insurance from 2019 to 2020 can be found in the 2020 Optimal Vascular Care Issue Brief listed in the Other Resources tab.

Table 3: Optimal Vascular Care Goals among Minnesota Adults with Ischemic Vascular Disease by Insurance Status, 2020

Insurance Coverage % Meeting all Goals
Commercial 52.5%
Medicare 57.6%
Minnesota Health Care Programs 41.9%
Uninsured or Self-Pay 36.2%
 
 
 
 
 

Other Resources

  • Minnesota Health Care Chartbook Section 9: Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System (PDF)
    Produced by the Minnesota Department of Health Health Economics Program, this section of the Health Care Markets Chartbook provides an overview of summary results for selected physician clinic and hospital quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care. It includes trends over time, stratified results by health insurance product, and measure specifications.

  • Minnesota Community Measurement’s 2020 Issue Brief on Optimal Vascular Care (PDF)
    A report from Minnesota Community Measurement taking a deeper look at the Optimal Vascular Measure, focused on changes from 2019 to 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Minnesota Community Measurement's Annual Community Reports(PDF)
    • The Health Care Quality Report has been produced since 2004 and features statewide, medical group, and clinic level performance on a number of clinical quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care.
    • The Disparities by Race, Hispanic Ethnicity, Preferred Language, and Country of Origin (RELC) Report (previously called the Health Equity of Care Report) has been produced since 2014 and highlights differences by race, Hispanic ethnicity, preferred language, and country of origin at the state and regional levels for a number of clinical quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care.
    • The Health Care Disparities by Insurance Type (previously called the Health Care Disparities Report) has been produced since 2007 and highlights differences by insurance type (Commercial Insurance, Medicare, Minnesota Health Care Programs, and Uninsured or Self-Pay) for a number of clinical quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care.
    • The Quality of Care for Chronic Conditions in Minnesota Report has been produced since 2018 and provides a more focused look at differences in clinical quality measures beyond those shown in the previous three Minnesota Community Measurement reports. These include differences by geographic location, age group, and sex.

Data Source

The data are collected by Minnesota Community Measurement, and were previously included in the Minnesota Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System (Quality Reporting System) at the Minnesota Department of Health for dates of service between January 1 - December 31 of the listed year. Minnesota Community Measurement receives data from all clinics in Minnesota.

Measure Definition

Adults included in this measure:

  • Are 18-75 years of age with a diagnosis of ischemic vascular disease
  • Have seen a provider in the last year for any reason

 

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Tags
  • cardiovascular
Last Updated: 01/05/2023

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