SHR/SHX’s PressureCare Kit is Potentially Saving Lives
We're excited to announce that SHR/SHX’s PressureCare kit this week helped diagnose an expectant New Jersey mother with preeclampsia. The kits contain:
A medical-grade automatic blood pressure cuff
Step-by-Step instructions on how to take your blood pressure
A blood pressure journal for logging
Easy-to-understand health information on hypertension disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period, including symptoms to look for and when to call your Health Care Provider (all information is available in English and Spanish)
Information on how to read food labels and tips to reduce salt intake during pregnancy
A sample bottle of Mrs. Dash salt alternative which is made in NJ
With the help of a small grant, SHR/SHX created the kits and established a pilot program to distribute them to low-income pregnant women in NJ. This week, one of the moms called to tell us that she suddenly felt light-headed and almost fell over while working. She used her PressureCare cuff to measure her blood pressure. She'd been logging her blood pressure levels twice a day and writing them down in her journal, and she realized her levels were much higher than usual. Noting the change, she called her doctor, who told her to come in immediately.
Based on her blood pressure readings during the visit, her own blood pressure journal recordings, and other tests, her doctor diagnosed her at 31 weeks with preeclampsia. She's now on bed rest, receiving treatment, plenty of love, help, and support from her family and friends, and prayers for her and her baby from fellow church members.
SHR/SHX's PressureCare kit is one of numerous steps underway to improve education, prevention, and outreach to reduce NJ's maternal mortality rates. NJ African American mothers are 7x, and Hispanic mothers are 3.5X more likely to die of pregnancy and childbirth-related causes compared to White women. Most of these deaths are preventable, and many are due to pregnancy-related high blood pressure.
If you would like to help sponsor our PressureCare Kit pilot program and increase our rollout you can contribute by clicking here: Social Health X | Donate