MCHD smartphone app helps to track blood pressure 10.15.25

October 15, 2025

MCHD smartphone app helps to track blood pressure

MOBILE, Ala. — National Women’s Blood Pressure Awareness Week aims to help women understand and manage their heart health by uplifting strategies and resources to prevent or control high blood pressure. This year’s observance, which takes place October 13-19, also shines a light on programs across the country that support women in keeping their hearts healthy.

This year’s theme, “Empower Every Era: Blood Pressure Control Across the Lifespan,” highlights the need for women to monitor and control their blood pressure through all stages of life, from young adulthood through and beyond menopause. The theme also focuses on reducing heart health disparities, especially for women in underserved and underrepresented communities, who may not have access to health care resources.

The Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) and its primary care division, Family Health, announced in 2022 the release of a smartphone app called “My MCHD Health Check.” This app has served as a new way for the health department to connect with Mobile County residents and visitors, providing information quickly and efficiently to anyone with a smartphone.

The effort has not gone unnoticed. The Health Resources and Services Administration featured the software on its Health Center Stories webpage. The section is titled “Free App May Help Lower Blood Pressure in Alabama Patients.”

“What began as a way to assist patients with health lifestyle tools for lowering high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol through a grant from ADPH five years ago has turned into an agency-wide mobile application that includes restaurant ratings, a Health Center locator map, Overdose Prevention, a connection to download the WIC state app, and a primary care tool,” said Melissa Creighton, Family Health’s grant manager who has played a key role in the project. “The app still contains those tools for healthy lifestyle such as the ‘Talk to a Nutritionist’ button to be automatically connected to an in-house licensed registered nutritionist who can call the patient to set up an in person or virtual appointment.”

She added the app includes a tool called “Blood Pressure Calculator” to keep and retain blood pressure readings. It gives a handy alert to the user based on the readings.

“This event and the tools empower women to monitor their health at every stage of life, encourage regular check-ins and support self-management of hypertension by providing education and reminders,” said Dr. Kevin Michaels, Health Officer for Mobile County. “By leveraging these resources, women can take practical steps toward better cardiovascular and kidney health, ultimately preventing major complications linked to uncontrolled blood pressure.”

The app is available for free in the App Store and Google Play. Search “My MCHD Health Check” or click the following link to download the app — https://apps.myocv.com/share/a65536603. The app can be used in both English and Spanish.