HEARTS is the most important global initiative for the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), with special emphasis on the control of hypertension and secondary prevention in primary health care. HEARTS is spearheaded by the World Health Organization involving various global actors: including the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States (CDC) and the Initiative Resolve to Save Lives, the International Society of Hypertension and Nephrology, the World Hypertension League and World Federations of Diabetes and Heart.

In the Region of the Americas, health ministries in Argentina, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Ecuador, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic, Peru and now Mexico are leading the initiative with the support and technical coordination of PAHO/WHO. In this framework, a series of activities for the implementation of HEARTS in Mexico were scheduled from February 18 to 20, workshops, technical and political meetings were held to ensure the activities of the initiative.

The Global Hearts Initiative comprises the MPOWER package for tobacco control in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the ACTIVE package for increasing physical activity, the SHAKE package for salt reduction, and the REPLACE package to eliminate industrially-produced trans fat from the global food supply. These packages facilitate the implementation of the initiative and catalyze the realization of the objectives and goals related to non-communicable diseases.