Interactive Health (@interactivehlth), a national leader for its personalized wellness solutions, announced it is supporting the American Heart Association (@American_Heart) on a shared mission of improving health and reducing heart disease risk and death.

Interactive Health will be a Worksite Wellness Sponsor of Heart Walks and Worksite Wellness Symposium events in Chicago, Denver, Dallas and St. Louis, as well as a supporter of Chicago’s Healthy Lifestyle Change and Dallas’ Take the Pledge.

“Like the American Heart Association, our mission is to improve the health of individuals and empower them to make healthy lifestyle changes, which is why this relationship is a perfect fit,” said Interactive Health President and CEO Cathy Kenworthy. “Our programs offer solutions and resources that help prevent heart disease and allow people to effectively manage their conditions.”

Heart disease is responsible for more deaths than all cancers combined. It is co-incident with many other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure, and together chronic diseases are the biggest drivers of health care costs. This is why a healthy workforce can help the bottom line, as well as improve employee morale and workplace retention, according to the AHA.

Currently, the overall health of America’s workforce is mixed, with worrisome trends. Cardiovascular disease and stroke rates are declining because of effective treatment and prevention; however, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes in adults remains high. Even though adult smoking rates have declined, approximately 18 percent of adults – 42 million people – still smoke. High blood pressure affects one in three adults, yet less than half are able to control their blood pressure. Worksites, along with schools, are vital gathering spots where health can be proactively evaluated and improved.

Interactive Health, which continually receives Accreditation with Performance Reporting, the highest wellness and health promotion accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), has proven success in improving the health of individuals with heart-related issues. For example, there is a demonstrated record of positive risk migration for participants who have metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and LDL cholesterol – 82% of people in Interactive Health wellness programs with elevated blood pressure reduced their blood pressure, while 69% with elevated LDL cholesterol improved their LDL cholesterol.

“Successful companies know where to invest, and the smart bet is on employees and their health,” says Eduardo Sanchez, MD and Chief Medical Officer for Prevention for the American Heart Association. “It is not enough to hold health fairs and set aside time for health screenings. Employers play an important role in creating and supporting an integrated culture of health where employees know their biometric numbers and work in settings that enable behaviors and practices that improve cardiovascular health.”

The AHA believes the best workplace wellness programs are rooted in science and demonstrate evidence of their impact. Comprehensive programs that are grounded in science and fully implemented have been shown to improve employee health, reduce absenteeism and generate savings from reduced healthcare costs. While 77 percent of employers recently reported having workplace wellness programs, a program’s existence doesn’t mean it’s effective. It’s all about how programs are designed, carried out and measured to ultimately impact chronic disease.

The AHA focuses on four behaviors – not smoking, eating healthfully, being physically active, and maintaining a healthy weight – as the keys to preventing many chronic diseases and managing these health risks once diagnosed.

Interactive Health’s programs, which are aligned with these areas of emphasis, result in high engagement rates, lasting health changes for individuals and a stronger bottom line for employers. For more than 20 years, Interactive Health’s programs have achieved proven success by transforming companies and improving, even saving, the lives of individuals.

The announcement of this support for the AHA is part of Interactive Health’s commitment to align with organizations that are committed to the goal of improving the health of employees in the workplace.

About Interactive Health
Interactive Health, the country’s leading provider of health management solutions, creates innovative wellness programs designed to increase overall company health and actively engage employees to make lasting behavior changes. For every company’s perspective on health management, early stage or mature, Interactive Health has a highly flexible program to meet its needs. By offering health evaluations that detect risk proactively, Interactive Health has the capability to immediately intervene and engage at-risk participants with a personalized course of action. Using ActiveEngineTM, a proprietary algorithmic-based clinical intelligence engine, a unique achievable goal is assigned to each participant based on individual results and health improvements are measured. Interactive Health has a 23-year track record of creating the Healthiest Companies in America. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the world. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.