Heart health screening outreach: cardiovascular risk checks, the USPSTF preventive medication recommendation, 911 signs, coverage and free screening offers

Heart health screening outreach invites adults who have not had their blood pressure, cholesterol or cardiovascular risk checked to come in and have it done. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can be present without any symptoms, so the invitation has to do the work that pain would otherwise do. That makes the outreach worth doing and easy to do badly. A page can scare a reader with a death statistic, promise that a check will prevent a heart attack, push a medicine, run a free screening that pulls in Medicare patients with a gift, put a risk calculator on a public page that sends the answers to an ad tool, or leave out the one line a reader with chest pain needs. This guide covers what the federal sources say, how to write about risk without overstating it, the 911 wording, who to invite, what happens after a check, coverage, free offers, products sold alongside, reminders, partners, privacy and tone.

Ten related topics have their own guides and are not repeated here. Heart practices, imaging and cardiac testing are covered in our guide to cardiology practice marketing, cholesterol clinics in our guide to lipid clinic marketing, and blood pressure programs in our guide to hypertension program marketing. Community events are covered in our guide to health fair and screening event marketing, the Medicare visit that brings in older adults in our guide to annual wellness visit outreach, and care after a heart event in our guide to cardiac and pulmonary rehab marketing. Programs that work on risk factors are covered in our guides to diabetes prevention program marketing, smoking cessation program marketing and chronic care management marketing, and home test kits in our guide to direct to consumer lab testing marketing. For Medicare’s one-time ultrasound for abdominal aortic aneurysm, see AAA screening outreach.

What the federal sources say

The USPSTF rates preventive services for adults without symptoms, CDC, NHLBI and MedlinePlus explain risk and warning signs to patients, Medicare publishes what Part B pays for, and federal law ties some preventive services to coverage. The points that shape heart health screening outreach:

• The USPSTF final recommendation Statin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults: Preventive Medication (August 23, 2022) applies to adults 40 or older without known cardiovascular disease or its signs or symptoms. It is a grade B recommendation for adults ages 40 to 75 with one or more risk factors (the Task Force names dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension and smoking) and an estimated 10-year risk of 10 percent or greater, a grade C recommendation to selectively offer the medicine at an estimated risk of 7.5 to less than 10 percent, and an I statement, meaning the evidence is insufficient, for adults 76 or older. The clinician summary tells clinicians to estimate risk with a cardiovascular risk estimator and to start the medicine after discussing the rationale and provided the patient agrees. It does not apply to adults with an LDL cholesterol level above 190 mg/dL or known familial hypercholesterolemia.
• The USPSTF final recommendation Hypertension in Adults: Screening (April 27, 2021) recommends screening for high blood pressure in adults 18 or older with office blood pressure measurement (grade A), and the recommendation statement describes confirming the diagnosis with measurements outside the clinical setting before starting treatment.
• The USPSTF final recommendation Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults With Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Behavioral Counseling Interventions (November 24, 2020) recommends offering or referring adults with cardiovascular risk factors to behavioral counseling to promote a healthy diet and physical activity (grade B). The page carries an update in progress notice.
• The CDC page Testing for Cholesterol (May 14, 2024, read through an archived copy) says the test is a simple blood draw, puts the interval for healthy adults at every 4 to 6 years, says children and adolescents should be checked at least once between ages 9 and 11, says a person may need to fast for 8 to 12 hours before the test, and tells readers to talk with their health care team about their own history and the right interval. The CDC page About Cholesterol says the only way to know whether you have high cholesterol is to get it checked.
• The NHLBI page Blood Cholesterol (last updated April 17, 2024) says routine blood tests can show whether cholesterol levels are healthy or unhealthy.
• The CDC page Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (October 24, 2024, read through an archived copy) lists chest pain or discomfort, feeling weak, light-headed or faint, pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck or back, pain or discomfort in one or both arms or shoulders, and shortness of breath, and says to call 9-1-1 immediately if you notice the symptoms of a heart attack in yourself or someone else. The CDC page Signs and Symptoms of Stroke (May 19, 2026, read through an archived copy) lists sudden numbness or weakness, sudden confusion or trouble speaking, sudden trouble seeing or walking and sudden severe headache, says to call 9-1-1 right away, and says to note the time when symptoms first appear.
• Medicare.gov says Part B covers cardiovascular disease screenings, blood tests for cholesterol, lipid and triglyceride levels, once every 5 years, and a cardiovascular behavioral therapy visit once a year with a primary care provider, and that the patient pays nothing if the provider accepts assignment.

We checked for changes before writing. The 2022 preventive medication page carries no update in progress notice. The USPSTF Recommendations in Progress page, checked October 30, 2026, lists a new topic, Enhanced Risk Assessment for Cardiovascular Disease: Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring, and an update to the 2020 counseling topic, both at the stage of developing the draft recommendation statement, with no draft posted; we could not confirm developments after that date. A page that promotes a heart scan should not present it as a USPSTF recommended screening while that work is open. CDC’s testing page mentions that a health care team may order a coronary artery calcium scan to help understand a person’s risk, which is a clinician’s choice for an individual patient, not a screening program.

The Task Force itself has changed. In Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, decided June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court held that Task Force members are inferior officers whose appointment by the Secretary of HHS is consistent with the Appointments Clause. On September 17, 2026, HHS announced eight new members who join the eight already serving. The recommendations above were issued before that change, so check the USPSTF pages again before a campaign runs.

Two points shape the marketing. First, the USPSTF recommendation is addressed to clinicians and depends on an estimate of risk made with the patient: a page can say the practice checks blood pressure and cholesterol and talks through cardiovascular risk, and should not promise a medicine to anyone who comes in, or suggest that a reader needs one. Second, a screening number is not a diagnosis: a single blood pressure reading or a cholesterol result at an event starts a conversation, and the clinician decides with the patient what it means and what comes next.

Heart screening pages and claims that need rewriting

Google’s search suggestions, which we checked on October 30, 2026, offer “cholesterol screening near me”, “heart health screening near me”, “heart screening near me free”, “heart health screening package” and “cardiovascular risk calculator”. Readers look for a place, a price and a quick answer about their own risk. A page can give the first two honestly and should leave the third to a visit.

A page that holds up says in plain words that high blood pressure and high cholesterol can be present without symptoms, that a check is quick, what the check includes, who it is for according to the USPSTF and CDC pages it names and dates, what it costs or how coverage works, and that the clinician explains the results and the options. It names the clinicians who do the work and how to book.

Phrases that need rewriting:

• “Prevent a heart attack with one simple test.” A test finds risk; it does not prevent anything on its own. Say what the check measures and that the clinician talks through the results.
• “Know your numbers in 15 minutes and get the right prescription today.” No page should promise a prescription. Say the clinician discusses options, which may include lifestyle changes, medicine or a referral.
• “Don’t become a statistic: book before it’s too late.” Fear used to push a booking is a poor invitation. If a number helps, quote it as the agency wrote it, name the agency and the date, and keep it apart from the call to book.
• “Our heart scan is the best screening test for heart disease.” The USPSTF has not finished its work on coronary artery calcium scoring. Describe what a scan is, who orders it and why, and do not rank it.
• “Lower your cholesterol naturally without medicine.” Promising that a diet, a supplement or a program will replace a medicine a clinician recommends is a treatment claim the practice would need to substantiate, and it can lead a patient to stop care.
• “Free heart screening, plus a gift card for coming in.” A gift aimed at Medicare or Medicaid patients raises the rule on beneficiary inducements below. Have counsel review any free offer and any gift.
• “Normal results mean you are in the clear.” A normal reading today does not rule out a heart attack or stroke. Say when to recheck, as the clinician advises, and give the 911 signs.

Under 15 U.S.C. 45, deceptive acts or practices in commerce are unlawful, and 15 U.S.C. 52 prohibits false advertisements likely to induce the purchase of drugs, devices, services or cosmetics. The FTC staff Health Products Compliance Guidance says claims about the health benefits or safety of health-related products require competent and reliable scientific evidence, and that an advertiser is responsible for the claims its ads convey, including implied ones. Quoting the federal sources as written, with each one named and dated, stays inside that standard; turning a federal statement into a promise to a patient does not.

911 on every page and in every tool

A heart screening page reaches people who are worried about their heart, and a few will read it while they have symptoms. Put one plain line near the top of the page, on flyers, in reminders and in the footer of the booking page: if you have chest pain or discomfort, or signs of a stroke such as sudden numbness, confusion, trouble speaking or seeing, or a sudden severe headache, call 911 now; do not book a screening and do not wait for a call back. CDC says to call 9-1-1 immediately for heart attack symptoms and right away for stroke signs, and MedlinePlus gives the same instruction for a heart attack.

The same wording belongs in voicemail, after-hours greetings, portal replies, text replies, chat and AI front desk tools. A tool should give 911 at once to any message that mentions chest pain, pressure or tightness, shortness of breath, fainting or stroke signs, and alert staff; it should route questions about readings, results or medicines to a clinician, and never tell a person whether a reading is safe, whether they are having a heart attack, or whether to start, change or stop a medicine. Our guides to the AI chatbot on a practice website and answering service versus AI receptionist cover how tools hand off these messages.

At a screening event, write down before the day what staff do if a reading is very high or a person has symptoms on site: who calls 911, who stays with the person, and who follows up. The clinician who oversees the event sets those steps; the marketing team should not.

Who to invite: adults by age, risk factors and last check

The USPSTF and CDC pages give different groups, and each needs its own wording.

Keep these points:

• Adults 18 or older: the USPSTF grade A recommendation on blood pressure screening covers every adult without known hypertension, so a general invitation to have blood pressure checked is on firm ground.
• Adults 40 to 75: the 2022 recommendation turns on risk factors and an estimated 10-year risk. A page can invite adults in this range to have their risk checked and talk it through, without saying who will be offered a medicine.
• Adults 76 or older: the USPSTF found the evidence insufficient on starting a preventive medicine in this group. Invite them to talk with their clinician about heart health, and do not imply a recommendation the Task Force did not make. Our guide to annual wellness visit outreach covers the Medicare visit.
• Adults with very high LDL cholesterol or known familial hypercholesterolemia: the 2022 recommendation does not apply to them, and the USPSTF points to other organizations’ guidelines. Their care belongs with a clinician, and our guide to lipid clinic marketing covers family members.
• Children and adolescents: CDC’s testing page says to check cholesterol at least once between ages 9 and 11. A pediatric practice can follow its own protocol and the Bright Futures schedule; keep adult wording off a page for families.
• Patients who already have heart disease or have had a heart attack or stroke: the 2022 recommendation is about primary prevention and does not cover them. Their follow-up belongs with their care team, not a screening campaign.

Keep the invitation to the check itself. A page that lists risk factors so a reader can decide they are fine and skip the visit, or decide they are in danger, does the clinician’s job badly. Invite the reader to come in and let the care team estimate risk.

After the check: results, follow-up and referral

A reading leads to a conversation, not a label. A page should describe the next steps in plain words: the clinician explains the results, may repeat a blood pressure reading or confirm it outside the office as the USPSTF statement describes, may order more tests, and talks through options, which can include changes to diet and activity, a referral for counseling, a medicine, or a specialist referral. Say who will call with results and when, and how to reach the care team with questions.

Some patients need a cardiologist, a dietitian or a counseling program. The page can say the practice refers patients when the clinician thinks it is needed and helps them find a specialist their plan covers. A practice that offers counseling on diet and activity can describe the service and the 2020 USPSTF recommendation as written, and say the topic is being updated. Do not promise a result such as a target number, a weight or a reduced chance of a heart attack.

Results reached at an event need a clear path back. Give the person a written copy of what was measured, the names of the clinician and the practice, a number to call, and the 911 line. If the person has no clinician, say how the practice or a community health center can help, and do not hold the result back to make them book.

Coverage: preventive rules, Medicare and the person’s plan

Under 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13, group health plans and health insurers must cover, without cost sharing, services with a USPSTF A or B rating in effect. Blood pressure screening (grade A), the preventive medication recommendation for the higher risk group (grade B) and the counseling recommendation (grade B) fall under that rule as the plan applies it; the grade C part does not, and the details depend on the plan, the network and how the visit is billed. Keep the recommendation and the coverage apart on the page, and say the practice checks coverage first.

Medicare.gov describes the cardiovascular screening blood tests once every 5 years and the cardiovascular behavioral therapy visit once a year, each with no cost to the patient if the provider accepts assignment. Quote the page as written, link it, and do not promise a free visit: other services at the same visit can carry a cost, and Medicare.gov itself tells patients to ask why a doctor recommends a service and what Medicare will actually cover. Our guide to marketing to Medicare patients covers the wider rules.

A free screening or a gift for coming in follows 16 CFR 251.1, which says a free offer must not be recouped through a raised price or a reduced quantity or quality elsewhere, and that the terms of the offer should be stated at the outset. Under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a(a)(5), civil penalties can apply to a person who offers or transfers remuneration to a Medicare or state health care program beneficiary that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary to order or receive items or services from a particular provider, practitioner or supplier. A free event that feeds paid follow-up visits, or a gift card for coming in, needs counsel’s review before it runs. State on the flyer what is free, what is not, and that no one has to book anything to get their result.

Products, kits and packages sold alongside

A practice may be offered supplements, heart health teas, home cholesterol kits, blood pressure cuffs or imaging packages to sell or promote next to its screening program. The FDA Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements says supplements are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent or cure diseases. Do not present a supplement or a program as a way to lower cholesterol or blood pressure in place of the care a clinician recommends, name no brand, and have counsel review any product partnership. A home kit or a cuff sold through the practice should come with the 911 line and with the advice to share results with the care team, and our guide to direct to consumer lab testing marketing covers kits. An imaging package sold directly to the public raises the coronary artery calcium point above and the referral rules below.

Recall texts, letters and reminders

Patients hear from the practice about blood pressure rechecks, lab work, results and follow-up visits. Under 45 CFR 164.501, a communication about the practice’s own treatment for an individual, such as a reminder to come in for a recommended service, can fall outside the definition of marketing, while a message that promotes a third party’s product or service generally needs a signed authorization under 45 CFR 164.508. A reminder about the practice’s own check is not the same as a message that sells a partner’s supplement, kit or scan.

The words in the message matter as much as the rule. A text, a postcard or a voicemail can be seen by a family member or an employer. Keep these points:

• Invite to the visit, not to the result: “[Practice name]: you are due for a check. Call [phone] or reply to book.” A reminder should not name a reading, a diagnosis or a medicine.
• Never put a blood pressure number, a cholesterol result, a risk estimate or a medicine in a text, a postcard, a voicemail or an email subject line; share them through the portal or a call, as the practice’s protocol says.
• If a result needs prompt follow-up, the clinician’s team calls; a marketing tool should not deliver it.
• Use the contact method and number the patient chose, and keep the caller ID and the sender name neutral.
• Give each message an easy opt-out, and honor it.

Our guides to text message appointment reminders and the patient recall system cover consent, timing and opt-outs.

Families and caregivers

Spouses and adult children book visits, drive older relatives to a screening and may call to ask about a result. Under 45 CFR 164.510(b), a covered entity may share information relevant to a family member’s or friend’s involvement in a patient’s care when the patient agrees or does not object, or, when the patient is not present or cannot agree, when the professional judges it is in the patient’s best interest. The intake team should ask the patient what may be shared and with whom, and record it. A page for families can explain the 911 signs CDC lists and how to book a check for a relative, without asking the relative to share the patient’s history on a web form.

Partners, labs and referral payments

Under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b), the federal anti-kickback statute, it is a crime to knowingly and willfully offer, pay, solicit or receive any remuneration to induce or reward referrals of items or services payable by a federal health care program. Under 18 U.S.C. 220, it is also a crime to knowingly and willfully solicit, receive, offer or pay remuneration for referrals to a laboratory, with respect to services covered by a health care benefit program. Rules on referral fees are also set state by state.

For a heart screening program, keep these points:

• Do not accept payment from a lab, an imaging center, a cardiology group, a drug maker or a device maker for the patients the practice sends them, and do not pay a gym, an employer, a pharmacy or a community group per person screened or referred, without counsel’s review.
• A sponsor who pays for a free screening event should not choose who is invited, see who attended or receive results; set the arrangement out in writing and have counsel review it.
• Give patients more than one option for follow-up tests and specialists where they exist, and tell them they can choose; our guide to patient and physician referrals covers referral rules.
• An employer screening program raises its own rules on who sees results; our guide to corporate wellness program marketing covers them.

Privacy, pixels, calculators and ads

A booking for a heart check, a blood pressure reading, a cholesterol result or a page about a heart condition can say something sensitive about a person’s health. Keep form answers, bookings and page clicks out of tracking pixels and ad platform tools unless a written agreement covers them; our guide to tracking pixels on practice websites covers the setup. A risk calculator on a public page collects age, readings, smoking and diabetes status, and hands back a number with no clinician to explain it. Leave the calculator to the visit, where the clinician enters the numbers and talks them through, and do not ask for readings or history on a public web form that sends answers by email or to an ad tool.

The Google Ads personalized advertising policy lists health among its sensitive interest categories and restricts targeting based on it. Ads can target by place, language settings and search terms such as “cholesterol screening near me”, and should not be built from a list of patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes taken from the practice’s records. Ad copy should not address the reader as a person who has heart disease or high cholesterol.

Tone, access and patient stories

A reader who feels blamed for their weight, their diet or their smoking may stay away. Present the check as a routine part of adult care, use calm words, and keep out alarm and shame: no images of a person clutching their chest in a screening ad, no countdown clocks, and no wording that suggests a reader caused their own risk. Write in plain words, offer the page in the languages the practice’s patients speak, and link the translated versions of federal pages where they exist; CDC, NHLBI and MedlinePlus offer pages in Spanish. The Department of Justice Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA describes website features such as text alternatives, enough color contrast and the ability to resize text that help people with disabilities use a site; our guide to Spanish language medical marketing covers translation.

A patient’s story about a check that led to care can encourage others. Under 16 CFR 255.2, an ad that shows one person’s result on a key attribute is likely to be read as what others will generally achieve, unless the advertiser has substantiation for that or clearly and conspicuously discloses what people can generally expect. A story that says a screening caught a problem and saved a life invites that reading. Use a story only if the patient chose to share it in writing, get a signed authorization under 45 CFR 164.508 where the practice is a covered entity, leave out readings and medicine names, say if the patient received anything for taking part, let them review the final version, and let them withdraw it later. Our guides to patient photo consent and testimonials and before and after photos cover the full rules.

Illustration: two screening flyers

Illustration: a flyer reads “Heart disease is the number one killer. Free heart screening Saturday: know your numbers, get your prescription, and get a gift card just for showing up!” It frightens before it informs, promises a prescription, offers a gift that can reach Medicare patients, says nothing about what is free and what is not, and gives no 911 line.

Illustration: a second flyer for the same practice reads “Blood pressure and cholesterol checks at [Practice name], [days and hours]. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can be present without symptoms. A clinician explains your results and your options. The check is free and you do not need to book anything else to get your results. Medicare covers cholesterol screening blood tests once every 5 years; ask us about your plan. Call [phone] to book. If you have chest pain or signs of a stroke, call 911 now.” It says what the check is, who explains it, what is free, how coverage works and where to go in an emergency.

Checklist before a heart screening campaign goes live

• Each USPSTF, CDC, NHLBI, MedlinePlus and Medicare.gov statement is quoted as written, named, linked and dated, and the USPSTF pages were checked again before launch.
• The page does not present a coronary artery calcium scan as a USPSTF recommended screening while that topic is open.
• No page promises a prescription, a medicine, a target number or a lower chance of a heart attack or stroke.
• No medicine, brand or supplement is named, and no product is presented as a substitute for care.
• The 911 line for chest pain and stroke signs is near the top of the page, on flyers, in reminders, in voicemail and in every chat and front desk tool.
• The page keeps the recommendation and the coverage apart, and says the practice checks coverage first.
• Any free offer states its terms at the outset, and counsel has reviewed any gift and any sponsor arrangement.
• Event steps for a very high reading or symptoms on site were set by the overseeing clinician before the day.
• Reminders name no reading, result, diagnosis or medicine, and use the contact method the patient chose.
• No risk calculator, reading or history field sits on a public form, and no booking or page click reaches a pixel or ad tool without a written agreement.
• Ads target place and search terms, not patient lists, and do not address the reader as a person with a condition.
• Any patient story has written consent, an authorization where required and no readings or medicine names.

How we help

We build websites, local search, Google Ads and AI front desk tools for independent practices and health businesses, including primary care, internal medicine, cardiology and community practices. For a heart health screening program, that means a site that builds its pages on the USPSTF, CDC, NHLBI and Medicare.gov pages as written and dated, keeps screening apart from diagnosis and both apart from coverage, gives the 911 line where a reader with symptoms will see it, and answers “cholesterol screening near me” and “heart health screening near me” searches plainly, plus appointment request pages that book a check without asking for readings or history on the web and keep answers away from tracking tools. Our front desk tools give 911 at once to any message about chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting or stroke signs and alert staff, route questions about results and medicines to a clinician, and do not tell anyone whether a reading is safe. We do not decide who should be screened or treated; your clinicians and patients do. Our tools are built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it. We are not a healthcare provider and we do not give legal or medical advice. We do not sell lead lists and we do not pay for referrals. For the wider rules, see our healthcare marketing rules hub.

Sources

• USPSTF: Statin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults: Preventive Medication (August 23, 2022)
• USPSTF: Hypertension in Adults: Screening (April 27, 2021)
• USPSTF: Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults With Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Behavioral Counseling Interventions (November 24, 2020)
• USPSTF: Recommendations in Progress (checked October 30, 2026)
• HHS: Secretary Kennedy Announces New Appointments to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (September 17, 2026)
• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. (U.S. Supreme Court, decided June 27, 2025)
• CDC: Testing for Cholesterol (May 14, 2024)
• CDC: About Cholesterol
• CDC: Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (October 24, 2024)
• CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Stroke (May 19, 2026)
• NHLBI: Blood Cholesterol (last updated April 17, 2024)
• MedlinePlus: Heart attack (reviewed July 14, 2024)
• Medicare.gov: Cardiovascular disease screenings (checked October 30, 2026)
• Medicare.gov: Cardiovascular behavioral therapy (checked October 30, 2026)
• FDA: Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements (content current as of August 27, 2026)
• 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13: Coverage of preventive health services
• 45 CFR 164.501: Definitions
• 45 CFR 164.508: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required
• 45 CFR 164.510: Uses and disclosures requiring an opportunity for the individual to agree or to object
• 15 U.S.C. 45: Unfair methods of competition unlawful
• 15 U.S.C. 52: Dissemination of false advertisements
• FTC: Health Products Compliance Guidance (December 2022)
• 16 CFR 251.1: Guide concerning use of the word free and similar representations
• 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a: Civil monetary penalties
• 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b: Criminal penalties for acts involving Federal health care programs
• 18 U.S.C. 220: Illegal remunerations for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories
• 16 CFR 255.2: Consumer endorsements
• Google Ads: Personalized advertising policy
• U.S. Department of Justice: Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA

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