CSTE has provided funding to three states to perform data linkages of various health databases for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This pilot project linked existing data sources (such as those for hospital discharge, emergency department visits, emergency medical services, mortality, census data, BRFSS, etc.) to improve the quality of CVD data to provide information needed for monitoring CVD risk factors, morbidity, and mortality. This project is the first step in developing better understanding of CVD burden and can serve as a model for providing more comprehensive data on other episodic chronic diseases. For more information about this pilot, read this brief summary of the CVD surveillance data pilot project . To see the final methodologies of the pilot states please use the following links:

• Massachusetts
• Nebraska
• Wisconsin