To mark World Hypertension Day 2021, let us celebrate the successes of HEARTS in the Americas.

This year's theme of World Hypertension Day focuses on combatting low awareness rates worldwide and providing accurate blood pressure measurement methods. The Pan American Health Organization invites you to participate in the webinar “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!” on Friday, 21 May 2021, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm (EDT).

More people die from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) than from any other cause. Over half of heart disease and stroke deaths are related to high blood pressure. Hypertension can be easily detected and treated, and its control is paramount to reduce the burden of CVD.

By 2025, HEARTS will be the model for cardiovascular disease risk management, including hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia in primary health care in the Americas. HEARTS in the Americas will be the front-line program to strengthen, integrate, and improve the quality of care for noncommunicable disease (NCD) in primary health care (PHC) in the post-COVID 19 recovery. The Initiative is currently being implemented in 16 countries, with 739 primary health care centers participating within an aggregate catchment area of over 8 million people.

HEARTS priority areas

• HEARTS model institutionalization by expanding the number of countries implementing the program and scaling up the number of PHC implementing the HEARTS technical package.
• Reinforcing the HEARTS technical pillars with particular emphasis on improvement in blood pressure (BP) measurement through a) training and certification of the PHC workforce and b) promotion of a regulatory framework for registration of BP devices that requires proof validation.

Audience

• Primary Health Care Providers from Centers Implementing HEARTS.
• Professional Societies of Cardiology, Hypertension, Family Medicine and others.
• Ministers of Health. Planning, technologies regulation and supplies personnel.

How to participate

• DATE: Friday, 21 May, 2021
• TIME: 11:00 am to 12:30 pm (EDT) [see time correspondence below]
• REGISTER: https://paho-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k76KD3N5STOSWNH1NjMBZg
  • After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar./span>
• LANGUAGE: The session will be in English, Spanish and Portuguese with simultaneous translation.

Live broadcast

Agenda

Moderator: Dr. Pedro Ordúñez  –  Regional Advisor on Noncommunicable Diseases. HEARTS Program in the Americas. (PAHO)

• 11:00 am - First section. Hypertension Control, Live Longer. (35 minutes) 

  HEARTS in the Americas. Headlines.

  • Gloria Giraldo, PhD. (HEARTS/PAHO) (5 minutes)

  HEARTS in the Americas implementation spotlight: Learning from two successful cases

  • Chile – (7 minutes)
  • Ecuador – (7 minutes)

  Comments

  • Prof. Norm Campbell, MD. The University of Calgary. Canada.(5 minutes)

  Q & A (10 minutes)

• 11:35 am - Second Section. Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately (35 minutes)

  Automated Digital Blood Pressure Devices (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqhpbfg8U9E)

  • Marc Jaffe, MD. Kaiser Permanente. California. (video, 2 minutes)

  How to check whether a blood pressure monitor has been properly validated for accuracy.

  • Dean Picone,  PhD. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.(7 minutes)

  Saint Lucia, the first country to implement a regulatory framework for using validated BP devices.

  • Anselm Gittens, Metrology Department, Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards, Castries, Saint Lucia. (7 minutes)

  Comments.

  • Prof. James Sharman, PhD. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas, Australia. (5 minutes)

  Q & A (10 minutes)

• 12:10 am - Third Section. HEARTS resources for education and training. (25 minutes)

  A new virtual course. Update on hypertension management and cardiovascular risk in primary health care.

  • Marc Jaffe, MD. Kaiser Permanente, California. (7 minutes)

  Online Hypertension training materials for primary health care providers.

  • Kunihiro Matsushita,  MD. PhD. Associate professor, Department of Epidemiology. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (7 minutes)

  Virtual Course on accurate automated blood pressure measurement.

  • Prof. Norm Campbell, MD. The University of Calgary. Canada (5 minutes)

  Q & A (10 minutes)

Time correspondence 

• 8:00 am.– Belmopan, Guatemala City, Managua, San José (CR), San Salvador, Tegucigalpa
• 9:00 am. – Belmopan, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Managua, San José (CR), San Salvador, Tegucigalpa
• 10:00 am. – Kingston, Mexico City, Panamá City
• 11:00 am. – Bridgetown, Castries, Georgetown, Nassau, Port-au-Prince, Port of Spain, San Juan, Washington DC
• 12:00 pm. – Brasilia, Paramaribo
• 5:00 pm. – Geneva, Madrid

For other cities, check the time in the following link

Visit:

HEARTS in the Americas

References:

1. Campbell NR et al. Llamado a la acción de San Pablo para la prevención y el control de la hipertensión arterial, 2020. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021 Feb 26;45:e26. Spanish. DOI: 10.26633/RPSP.2021.26.

2. Campbell NR et al. Chamado à ação de São Paulo para prevenção e controle da hipertensão arterial, 2020. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021 Feb 26;44:e27. Portuguese. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2021.27. DOI: 10.26633/RPSP.2021.27

3. Picone DS et al. Accuracy in Measurement of Blood Pressure (AIM-BP) Collaborative. How to check whether a blood pressure monitor has been properly validated for accuracy. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2020 Dec;22(12):2167-2174. DOI: 10.1111/jch.14065

4. Lombardi C et al. Weak and fragmented regulatory frameworks on the accuracy of blood pressure-measuring devices pose a major impediment for the implementation of HEARTS in the Americas. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2020 Dec;22(12):2184-2191. DOI: 10.1111/jch.14058

5. HEARTS in the Americas. Virtual Courses. https://www.paho.org/en/hearts-americas/hearts-americas-virtual-courses