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HEARTS in the Americas

May 10
Hearts-en

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the Americas, and high blood pressure accounts for over 50% of CVD. Unfortunately, in the Americas, over a quarter of adult women and four in ten adult men have hypertension, and the diagnosis, treatment, and control are suboptimal. Remarkably, only a few countries exhibit a population hypertension control rate of over 50%. To address this critical problem, the Pan American Health Organization initiated the HEARTS in the Americas Initiative, the regional adaptation of the World Health Organization Global Hearts Initiative, a comprehensive risk reduction program currently being implemented in nearly 2095 health facilities in 22 countries of the Region of the Americas. 

HEARTS takes a pragmatic and comprehensive approach to the effective management of hypertension and the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. It emphasizes the adoption of a standardized treatment protocol for hypertension and a clinical pathway that integrates key components related to proper measurement of blood pressure, cardiovascular risk assessment, and risk-based care while strengthening the integration of diabetes and chronic kidney disease into primary health care. 

This special issue of the Pan American Journal of Public Health will showcase relevant research efforts in the Region of the Americas on the implementation and early results of the comprehensive model to improve hypertension control and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it opens the space for more discussion, encourages further studies in the field, and emphasizes the need for higher involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of HEARTS in the Americas Initiative. 

The articles comprise original research and some translations into Spanish and Portuguese of articles recently published in other journals and will be posted on this website as they become available.  

HEARTS in the Americas Initiative of PAHO/WHO and the Pan American Journal of Public Health gratefully acknowledge the continuous support of Resolve to Save Lives and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Watch the webinar about the special issue on occasion of World Heart Day 2022.

 

Moving toward improved access to medicines and health technologies for cardiovascular disease*
Brief communication | English | Giron et al. |
Building capacity in reducing population dietary sodium intake in the Americas
Brief communication | English | Allemandi et al. |
Political will and governance: keys to Implementing HEARTS in Peru
Brief communication | Spanish | Hancco Saavedra y Pérez Jiménez |
Implementation design of the HEARTS healthy-lifestyle counselling module at the first level of care in Mexico
Brief communication | Spanish | González et al. |
The HEARTS Initiative in Cuba: experience of five years of implementation
Brief communication | Spanish | Valdés González et al. |
Synthesis of evidence and recommendations: guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of arterial hypertension in adults
Special report | Spanish | Organización Panamericana de la Salud |
Implementation of the HEARTS Initiative in Argentina: initial results
Brief communication | Spanish | Rodriguez et al. |
Improving cardiovascular health with the patient-centered, integrated primary care HEARTS model in Trinidad and Tobago
Brief communication | English | Doon et al. |
Civil society’s role in improving hypertension control in Latin America
Opinion and analysis | English | Champagne et al. |
Preliminary results of the HEARTS Initiative in Mexico: facilitators and barriers in information systems
Brief communication | Spanish | Casales-Hernández et al. |
Monitoring and evaluation platform for HEARTS in the Americas: improving population-based hypertension control programs in primary health care
Brief communication | English | Prado et al. |
Control of arterial hypertension: a pending issue
Opinion and analysis | Spanish | Sosa Liprandi et al. |
Impact of the HEARTS Initiative in a second-level health institution in Colombia
Original research | Spanish | Rivas Rivas et al. |
Association between population hypertension control and ischemic heart disease and stroke mortality in 36 countries of the Americas, 1990-2019: an ecological study
Original research | English | Martinez et al. |
Assessing costs of a hypertension program in primary care: evidence from the HEARTS program in Mexico
Original research | English | Chivardi et al. |
Developing population-based hypertension control programs
Opinion and analysis | English | Jaffe et al. |
HEARTS in the Americas: saving lives from the world’s deadliest disease
Editorial | English | Frieden et al. |
Scaling up cardiovascular disease management in primary care through HEARTS in the Americas
Editorial | English | Etienne |
Efficacy of a standardized and simplified strategy for the treatment of high blood pressure in Chile: the HEARTS Initiative in the Americas
Original research | Spanish | Michea et al. |
Integrated approach for noncommunicable disease management in the Americas
Current topic | English | Luciani et al. |
Integrating hypertension and diabetes management in primary health care settings: HEARTS as a tool
Special report | English | Flood et al. |
Profile of blood pressure measurement devices purchased in Chile 2018–2020
Brief communication | Spanish | Silva et al. |
HEARTS in the Americas appraisal checklist and clinical pathway for comprehensive hypertension management in primary care
Current topic | English | Rosende et al. |
Chile’s public healthcare sector hypertension control rates before and during the pandemic and HEARTS implementation
Brief communication | English | Barake et al. |
Improving cardiovascular health in primary care in Saint Lucia through the HEARTS Initiative
Brief communication | English | Philbert et al. |
Ups and downs of hypertension control in Canada: critical factors and lessons learned
Opinion and analysis | English | Campbell et al. |
Building the health-economic case for scaling up the WHO-HEARTS hypertension control package in low- and middle-income countries
Special report | English | Moran et al. |
Evaluating progress and addressing actions to eliminate industrially produced trans-fatty acids in the Americas
Brief communication | English | Rincón-Gallardo et al. |
HEARTS in the Americas: innovations for improving hypertension and cardiovascular disease risk management in primary care
Special report | English | Ordunez et al. |
Authors’ response to the letter “Concerning The HEARTS app: a clinical tool for cardiovascular risk and hypertension management in primary health care”
Letter | English | Ordunez et al. |
Concerning “The HEARTS app: a clinical tool for cardiovascular risk and hypertension management in primary health care”
Letter | English | Muñoz Laguna and Banegas |
2021 World Health Organization guideline on pharmacological treatment of hypertension: Policy implications for the region of the Americas
Special report | English | Campbell et al. |
Drivers and scorecards to improve hypertension control in primary care practice: Recommendations from the HEARTS in the Americas Innovation Group
Special report | English | Brettler et al. |
HEARTS in the Americas: a global example of using clinically validated automated blood pressure devices in cardiovascular disease prevention and management in primary healthcare settings
Special report | English | Ordunez et al |
The HEARTS app: a clinical tool for cardiovascular risk and hypertension management in primary health care
Brief communication | English | Ordunez et al. |