HEARTS in the Americas: targeting health system change to improve population hypertension controlHEARTS nas Am éricas: impulsionar mudanças no sistema de saúde para melhorar o controle da hipertensão arterial na população

Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2024 Mar 10;48:e17. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2024.17. eCollection 2024.ABSTRACTPURPOSE OF REVIEW: HEARTS in the Americas is the regional adaptation of Global Hearts, the World Health Organization initiative for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and control. Its overarching goal is to drive health services to change managerial and clinical practice in primary care settings to improve hypertension control and CVD risk management. This review describes the HEARTS in the Americas initiative. First, the regional epidemiological situation of CVD mortality and population hypertension control trends are summarized; then the rationale for its main intervention components: the primary care-oriented management system and the HEARTS Clinical Pathway are described. Finally, the key factors for accelerating the expansion of HEARTS are examined: medicines, team-based care, and a system for monitoring and evaluation.RECENT FINDINGS: Thus far, 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have committed to integrating this program across their primary healthcare network by 2025. The increase in hypertension coverage and control in primary health care settings compared with the traditional model is promising and confirms that the interventions under the HEARTS umbrella are feasible and acceptable to communities, patients, providers, decision-makers, and funders. This review highlights some cases of successful implementation.SUMMARY: Scaling up effective treatment for...
Source: Pan American Journal of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research