The HEARTS technical package provides a strategic approach to improving cardiovascular health in countries. It comprises six modules and an implementation guide. This package supports Ministries of Health to strengthen CVD management in primary health care settings. The practical, step-by step modul...es are supported by an overarching technical document that provides a rationale and framework for this integrated approach to the management of NCDs.
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HEARTS provides a set of locally adaptable tools for strengthening the
management of CVD in primary health care.
HEARTS is designed to enhance implementation of WHO PEN by providing:
• operational guidance on further integrating CVD management
• technical guidance on evaluating the impact of... CVD care on patient outcomes.
For countries not using WHO PEN, CVD management can still be integrated into
primary health care. The process of implementing HEARTS will vary, depending
on country context, and may require a significant reorienting and strengthening
of the health system. At some sites, existing CVD management services may be
reoriented toward a risk-based approach, while other sites may adopt a public
health approach, strengthening management of particular risk factors such as
hypertension. Whether or not introducing CVD management into primary care is a
new intervention, successful implementation will require engagement with national and local health planners, managers, service providers, and other stakeholders.
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Patient information on coronary heart disease. English version. Also available in: Arabic, French, German, Russian, Turkish, Spanish. For other versions go to: http://www.patienten-information.de/kurzinformationen/herz-und-gefässe/koronare-herzkrankheit-notfall
short information/patient handout on coronary heart disease, on this homepage available in:
arabic, english, german, french, russian, spanish & turkish
ext. Homepage, accessed 2018/04/16
Global Heart, March 2014, Vol. 9 No.1
Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s youngest populations. The pattern of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is distinctly different from other regions, with a lower proportion of causes stemming from atherosclerosis, and a younger average age at CVD death. Sub-Sahar...an Africa has the world’s lowest ischaemic heart disease death rates, but stroke death rates are similar to those in Western, High Income countries
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Global Hear, March 2014, Vol. 9 no.1
Blended Learning Modulef or the Health Extension Programme
In this study session, you will learn about the general features of faeco-oraldiseases: the main types commonly found in Ethiopia, their general symptomsand signs, how to treat mild cases and when to refer patients with severeconditions for... specialised treatment, or laboratory tests to confirm thediagnosis. You will also learn about the importance of giving effective healtheducation to your community on ways to prevent and control faeco-oraldiseases.
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Chagas disease is found mainly in endemic areas of 21 continental Latin American countries. The most common way people are infected with Chagas is through the blood-sucking triatomine bugs, also known as ‘kissing bugs’ (or vinchuca, barbeiro, pito, chinche, chipo in different Latin American coun...tries). The bugs typically live in wall or roof cracks of poorly constructed homes made of materials such as mud, straw and palm thatch. They come out at night to feed on people’s blood while they’re sleeping, then defecate close to the bite. Their faeces contain the parasite, which can then enter the person’s body when they inadvertently smear the bug’s waste into the bite or another skin break, the eyes or the mouth.
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Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected tropical disease, endemic in Latin America, but due to migration and environmental changes it has become a global public health issue.
Chagas heart disease (CHD) affects approximately 30% of patients chronically infected with the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi. CHD is classified into four stages of increasing severity according to electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, and clinical criteria. CHD presents with a myriad of clinical man...ifestations, but its main complications are sudden cardiac death, heart failure, and stroke. Importantly, CHD has a higher incidence of sudden cardiac death and stroke than most other cardiopathies, and patients with CHD complicated by heart failure have a higher mortality than patients with heart failure caused by other etiologies. Among patients with CHD, approximately 90% of deaths can be attributed to complications of Chagas disease. Sudden cardiac death is the most common cause of death (55%-60%), followed by heart failure (25%-30%) and stroke (10%-15%). The high morbimortality and the unique characteristics of CHD demand an individualized approach according to the stage of the disease and associated complications the patient presents with. Therefore, the management of CHD is challenging, and in this review, we present the most updated available data to help clinicians and cardiologists in the care of these patients. We describe the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and classification criteria, risk stratification, and approach to the different clinical aspects of CHD using diagnostic tools and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments.
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Unpreparedness of health professionals to address non-communicable diseases (NCD) at peripheral health facilities is a critical health system challenge in Mozambique. To address this weakness and decentralize NCD care, training of the primary care workforce is needed. We describe our experience in t...he design and implementation of a cascade training of trainers (ToT) intervention to strengthen the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease.
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Cardiovascular diseases, principally ischemic heart disease (IHD), are the most important cause of death and disability in the majority of low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). In these countries, IHD mortality rates are significantly greater in individuals of a low socioeconomic status (...SES).
Three important focus areas for decreasing IHD mortality among those of low SES in LLMICs are (1) acute coronary care; (2) cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and (3) primary prevention. Greater mortality in low SES patients with acute coronary syndrome is due to lack of awareness of symptoms in patients and primary care physicians, delay in reaching healthcare facilities, non-availability of thrombolysis and coronary revascularization, and the non-affordability of expensive medicines (statins, dual anti-platelets, renin-angiotensin system blockers). Facilities for rapid diagnosis and accessible and affordable long-term care at secondary and tertiary care hospitals for IHD care are needed. A strong focus on the social determinants of health (low education, poverty, working and living conditions), greater healthcare financing, and efficient primary care is required. The quality of primary prevention needs to be improved with initiatives to eliminate tobacco and trans-fats and to reduce the consumption of alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and salt along with the promotion of healthy foods and physical activity. Efficient primary care with a focus on management of blood pressure, lipids and diabetes is needed. Task sharing with community health workers, electronic decision support systems, and use of fixed-dose combinations of blood pressure-lowering drugs and statins can substantially reduce risk factors and potentially lead to large reductions in IHD. Finally, training of physicians, nurses, and health workers in IHD prevention should be strengthened.
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Development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is influenced by risk factors such as:
tobacco use, an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, obesity (which can result from
a combination of unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and other factors), elevated
blood pressure (hypertension), abnormal blood l...ipids (dyslipidaemia) and elevated blood glucose (diabetes mellitus). Continuing exposure to these risk factors leads
to further progression of atherosclerosis, resulting in clinical manifestations of these diseases, including angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, heart failure and stroke. Total CVD risk depends on the individual’s overall risk-factor profile.
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Peripheral artery disease is similar to coronary artery disease (CAD).
Peripheral artery disease is a narrowing of the peripheral arteries that carry blood away from the heart to other parts of the body. The most common type is lower-extremity PAD, in which blood flow is reduced to the legs and fee...t. Upper-extremity PAD (arms, hands and fingers) is less common but affects about 10% of the population.
Both PAD and coronary artery disease are caused by atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries that narrows and blocks them throughout the body, including in the heart, brain, arms, legs, pelvis and kidneys.
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These key factors can help you live a longer, healthier life and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. They’re part of an overall healthy lifestyle and prevention approach you can build with your health care team (doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other professionals).
In 2014, the World Heart Federation (WHF) launched
an initiative to develop a series of Roadmaps [1e6]. Their
aim is to identify potential roadblocks on the pathway to
effective prevention, detection, and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD), along with evidence-based
solutions to overcome... them. The resulting documents
provide a framework to translate strategic intent into action
on integrating epidemiology, population, and cardiovascular outcome trial data into national plans for optimal
CVD management.
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Heart & Circulatory Diseases (Cardiovascular Disease; CVD)
Heart and circulatory diseases is an umbrella term for all diseases of the heart and circulation. It includes everything from conditions that are inherited or that a person is born with, to those that develop later, such as coronary heart d...isease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and vascular dementia.
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We, the participants at the first-ever International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa (ICPPA), held on 23– 25 April 2024 in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, recognize the urgency of the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) across our Region. We are alarmed by the implication...s for social and economic development across Africa, considering that rising numbers of people under the age of 40 die unnecessarily.
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