The American Heart Association (AHA) and Mission of Mercy Arizona (MOM AZ) share common priorities and interests regarding the health and well-being of all members of the Greater Phoenix community. AHA and MOM AZ are aligned in their focus on providing resources and opportunities for everybody everywhere to improve their lives and communities.
Current grant funding from the AHA’s Phoenix chapter was provided through June 2025 to achieve the joint goal of helping to decrease hypertension rates through diabetes control. Patients with diabetes have double the risk of developing heart disease over their lifetimes.
“More than half of MOM patients have type 2 diabetes, so working alongside AHA to decrease hypertension rates makes sense,” says AZ MOM Medical Director Dr. Brad Smith. “Behavioral changes like increased exercise and improved diet help to greatly reduce the risks associated with both diabetes and heart disease.”
In recent years, MOM AZ’s Avondale Clinic also benefited from a generous grant from AHA that funded the Target BP (blood pressure) project, a national program sponsored by the AHA. The goal of the program is to increase compliance among patients with high blood pressure (hypertension), the single most prevalent health conditions treated in MOM clinics.
The grant funded 100 blood pressure machines for patients to use at home, incentives (like grocery gift cards) to increase compliance, two new professional blood pressure monitors for the clinic, and educational materials in English and Spanish.
“Untreated hypertension is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. MOM already provides excellent care to patients with hypertension and provides medications as needed. Sometimes the patients need additional tools to help with medication compliance and follow-up visits. Home monitoring of blood pressure is an excellent way to accomplish this. This also incorporates the goals of the Target BP program,” says Katie Raife, a MOM medical volunteer and generous donor who supported the Target BP program in Avondale.
For more heart health information, check out the American Heart Association.
