Corporate wellness plan designers and managers who want to enrich their programs without increasing cost may want to take a look at the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 checklist.
The American Heart Association has developed this checklist as a way for companies to address heart disease among covered employees. Available here, the steps are fairly straightforward, more a matter of monitoring one's behavior first and then choosing to change it if necessary. The seven steps lead to a general assessment of one's cardiovascular condition.
Check list item one: Managing blood pressure
Recommended For You
One of the simplest steps a person can take for self care, blood pressure management starts with measurement. Today there are myriad devices for easily taking one's blood pressure, either at home or at a pharmacy, once a baseline has been established at the clinic. It may take a few tries to get accurate readings, but once accomplished, a home device is a great aid in determining if prescribed treatment is working.
Check list item two: Cholesterol
Cholesterol management may or may not include dietary changes or a prescription drug regimen. If blood work shows someone has high cholesterol, a clinician can set a course of treatment based upon genetics and lifestyle. The key is sticking to the program and regularly testing for cholesterol levels.
Check list item three: Blood sugar
Monitoring one's blood sugar is critical to preventing or managing such chronic diseases as diabetes. New glucose testing devices have made monitoring safe and easy. Sticking to the prescribed diet may be the hard part.
Check list item four: Get active
The AHA helps people set a daily activity schedule, stick to it, and review the results. In an increasingly sedentary world of work, a specific program for physical activity is critical to one's health.
Check list item five: Eat better
Everyone vows to eat better — but who's tracking it? AHA offers a pathway to a healthier diet that covers shopping, cooking, dining out and heart-healthy, tasty recipes.
Check list item six: Weight management
The AHA offers a comprehensive program for determining if one is overweight; understanding how weight is gained and lost; and establishing a personal program for those who need to shed weight. Eating better and getting active are keys to weight management, and those who are on board on check list items 4 & 5 already have a head start on this one.
Check list item seven: Smoking management
The best way to manage smoking is to stop smoking. While most associate lung cancer with smoking, the habit takes a huge toll on one's cardiovascular system. The AHA offers steps to smoking cessation that work.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
