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Improving hypertension control in 3 million people: country experiences of programme development and implementation

Improving hypertension control
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Overview

The WHO, Resolve to Save Lives (RESOLVE) – an initiative of Vital Strategies – and other partners are working with national and subnational governments to support their work to improve the control of hypertension (HTN) using the HEARTS technical package. The aim of the partnership is to prevent millions of deaths from CVD by reducing salt consumption, eliminating industrially produced trans fats, and controlling hypertension. One of the main strategies is implementing the HEARTS technical package, which provides proven, affordable and scalable solutions to improve control of hypertension at the primary care level. Five components are necessary for a successful hypertension control programme: drug- and dose-specific treatment protocols; access to quality-assured medications and blood pressure (BP) monitors; team-based care; patient-centred care delivered in the community, and information systems to enable quality improvement.

This case series aims to showcase the experience of 18 countries that have adopted the HEARTS technical package for scaling up hypertension control. Countries included are: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Vietnam. National and subnational ministries of health are developing and implementing programmes with the support of WHO and RESOLVE.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, a programme led by the ministries of health and supported by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and other partners is active in 11 countries. HEARTS in the Americas has been supported technically and financially by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and RESOLVE, along with the World Hypertension League, World Heart Federation, Inter-American Society of Cardiology, Latin-American Society of Hypertension, and several universities across the Americas.