In many low- and middle-income countries, there is a wide gap between evidencebased recommendations and current practice. Treatment of major CVD risk factors remains suboptimal, and only a minority of patients who are treated reach their target levels for blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol. In other areas, overtreatment can occur with the use of non-evidence-based protocols. The aim of using standard treatment protocols is to improve the quality of clinical care, reduce clinical variability and simplify the treatment options, particularly in primary health care. Standard treatment protocols can be developed by preparing new national treatment guidelines or by adapting or adopting international guidelines. The Evidence-based protocols module uses hypertension and diabetes screening and treatment as an entry point to control cardiovascular risk factors, prevent target organ damage, and reduce premature morbidity and mortality. A comprehensive risk- based approach for integrated management of hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol is included in the Risk-based CVD management module. This module includes clinical practice points and sample protocols for: 1. hypertension detection and treatment 2. type 2 diabetes detection and treatment 3. identifying basic emergencies – care and referral. HEARTS emphasizes adaptation, dissemination, and use of a standardized set of simple clinical-management protocols, which should be drug- and dose-specific, and include a core set of medications. The simpler the protocols and management tools, the more likely they are to be used correctly, and the higher the likelihood that a programme will achieve its goals.