‘Stronger Hearts’ at BWI: ‘Smart’ health station installed at airport

Stuck at the airport? Why not use the opportunity for a little self-care?

Passengers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport can now visit a Higi Smart Health Station — a colorful, eye-catching kiosk designed to allow travelers to monitor their blood pressure, pulse, weight and body mass index. The BWI station is part of the Stronger Hearts Initiative, a collaboration between the American Heart Association and LifeBridge Health.

According to Higi, there are more than 10,000 of its kiosks in the United States, many in pharmacies and grocery stores.

How it works

Tracy Brazelton, executive director of the AHA’s Baltimore and Greater Maryland division, explained how the kiosks operate.

“You simply sit at the kiosk and register with your email address,” she said. “The seat weighs you if you want to be weighed. Then you place your arm in the cuff and the machine guides you through the process.”

While noting the user’s blood pressure, the kiosk also categorizes the results, which can range from healthy to hypertensive crisis.

Users who ask to have their health data sent to their email address can share the information with their doctors.

Dr. William Ashley, a neurosurgeon with LifeBridge Health and president-elect of the board of directors of the American Heart Association’s Eastern States region, said February – American Heart Month — is a great time to bring the health kiosk to the public’s attention.

The importance of knowing

“You can’t see high blood pressure,” Ashley said. “Sometimes you can be doing all the right things and still be living with hypertension.”

He said the health kiosks can help people know their numbers, which, he emphasized, was “the first step toward saving lives.”

Ashley said the kiosks aren’t meant to replace yearly checkups, but rather to supplement them.

“Knowing your numbers (is) critical for preventive care like smoking cessation, healthy eating, regular exercise and weight control,” he said.

Awareness of their blood pressure numbers can help people with hypertension prevent further damage to their arteries, which can lead to stroke.

“The chances of having such an event are higher if we don’t work hard on lowering our risk with day-to-day lifestyle changes,” Ashley said.

Said Brazelton: “(High blood pressure) can be controllable, so the more places we can make it accessible for all people to become armed with information about what those numbers mean, the further ahead we’ll get in winning that battle.”

Part of a broader effort

Jonathan O. Dean, director of communications at BWI, said the kiosks are part of a broader health and fitness effort aimed at travelers.

“We also offer healthy dining options and have an indoor walking cardio trail to enable people to get their steps in,” Dean said.

The initiative is already showing positive results, according to Wayne Carter, communications director for the AHA in Baltimore.

“Since the kiosk’s installation between Gates A9 and A11 in July, over 4,000 sessions have been recorded through Dec. 31, averaging about 22 uses per day,” he said.

Brazelton said enabling people to be aware of their health metrics can help prevent serious problems.

“We’re so grateful to LifeBridge Health for placing these kiosks in our community so that travelers can now turn idle time into a proactive step toward better health,” she said.