Hypertension Center Certification
Demonstrate that you have what it takes to take on complex cases.
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Hypertension is a major risk factor for both heart disease and stroke. But while controlling your patients' high blood pressure of the utmost importance, complications and comorbidities can make it difficult to achieve. Hypertension Center certification helps practices demonstrate the expertise needed for effective treatment.
Hypertension Centers are certified as either a Comprehensive Hypertension Center or a Hypertension Practice Center based on the characteristics and capabilities outlined below.
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How Certification Supports Quality Improvement
The certification process helps practice teams mobilize to implement quality improvement practices, including adherence to evidence-based hypertension treatment guidelines and ongoing professional education.
How Certification Raises Facility Profiles
Hypertension Center certification serves as tangible evidence of your practice's commitment to improving hypertension care and reducing patients' risk for heart disease and stroke. The AHA/ASA helps spread the word through:
- Display of the iconic Heart-Check mark, a symbol patients know and trust
- National recognition on the AHA/ASA online quality map
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How We Support The Certification Process
We're with you every step of the way, providing:
- Tools and resources
- Educational opportunities
- Individualized assistance from program representatives
Eligibility Requirements for Comprehensive Centers
- Center is located in either academic medical center or in large multi-specialty clinics.
- Director meets criteria outlined in certification requirements.
- Center is recognized as referral and treatment resource for resistant and secondary hypertension, and alternative therapies.
- Personnel are certified in recording blood pressure and in maintaining equipment for the center as well as patient self-monitoring.
- Center performs and interprets 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recording.
- Center has facilities to perform extensive multispecialty examination and treatment to assess complicated hypertension problems:
- Quantitative echocardiography
- Exercise testing
- Ankle-brachial index
- Carotid doppler
- Evaluation of autonomic function
- Center performs diagnostic evaluation:
- Renal angiography
- Renal vein renin sampling
- Doppler renal ultrasound
- CT angiography
- MR angiography
- Adrenal vein sampling for aldosterone
- Center performs interventions:
- Renal angioplasty with/without stenting
- Laparoscopic adrenalectomy
- Sleep lab
- Center participates in investigator-initiated research and/or in appropriate multicenter trials and observational studies.
- Center performs ongoing quality improvement in accord with standardized quality performance guidelines.
- Personnel participate in ongoing hypertension educational activities.
- Personnel participate in teaching hypertension to medical students, house officers and fellows.
- Personnel participate in the publication of scholarly articles related to the field of hypertension and related disorders.
Eligibility Requirements for Practice Centers
- Director meets criteria outlined in certification requirements.v
- Majority of practice must be devoted to patients with hypertension and related disorders.
- Recognition as referral and treatment resource for resistant and secondary hypertension, and alternative therapies.
- Personnel are certified in recording blood pressure and in maintaining equipment for both the Center and self-monitoring for patients.
- Performs and interprets 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recording.
- Has access to facilities to perform extensive multi-specialty examination and treatment to assess complicated hypertension problems:
- Quantitative echocardiography
- Exercise testing
- Ankle-brachial index
- Carotid doppler
- Evaluation of autonomic function
- Diagnostic Evaluation:
- Renal angiography
- Renal vein renin sampling
- Doppler renal ultrasound
- CT angiography
- MR angiography
- Adrenal vein sampling for aldosterone
- Interventions:
- Renal angioplasty with/without stenting
- Laparoscopic adrenalectomy
- Sleep lab
- Participates in investigator-initiated research and/or in appropriate multi-center trials and observational studies.
- Practice performs ongoing quality improvement in accord with standardized quality performance guidelines.
- Personnel participate in ongoing hypertension educational activities.
See Who Is On The List
Our Certified Hypertension Centers list continues to grow every month. Download our current list to find out who is a certified Comprehensive Hypertension Center and a Hypertension Practice Center.
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Answering Your Questions
For more information regarding Hypertension Certification, please contact us at [email protected]
Download the Eligibility Guide (PDF), and our Program Overview (PDF) to learn more.