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Published on: September 26, 2018
Integrated Antihypertensive and Statin Treatment Protocols for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Low- and
Andrew E Moran1,2, Obehi Aimiosior1, Reena Gupta1,3
1Resolve to Save Lives, New York, USA.
Insights
In low- and middle-income countries, statin use for preventing cardiovascular disease is very low. Integrating statin therapy into existing WHO HEARTS protocols can significantly increase patient access and coverage.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
- Global Health Initiatives
Background:
- Preventable cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- Statin therapy for primary CVD prevention is underutilized in LMICs, with less than 10% of eligible patients receiving treatment.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Hearts initiative promotes standardized hypertension and diabetes management protocols (HEARTS).
Discussion:
- This editorial proposes integrating statin treatment into established WHO HEARTS protocols for hypertension and diabetes.
- This integration aims to leverage existing healthcare infrastructure and treatment pathways in LMICs.
- The approach seeks to overcome barriers to statin access and improve CVD prevention strategies.
Key Insights:
- A significant gap exists in primary cardiovascular disease prevention in LMICs.
- Existing WHO HEARTS protocols provide a viable framework for expanding statin coverage.
- Integrating statins into these protocols offers a scalable solution for increasing access.
Outlook:
- Further research and pilot programs are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of integrated statin treatment.
- Successful integration could serve as a model for other essential preventive therapies in LMICs.
- This strategy has the potential to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease deaths.
Abstract:
In low- and middle-income countries where the majority of preventable cardiovascular disease deaths occur, less than 10% of eligible patients receive statins for primary cardiovascular disease prevention. Since 2017, the Global Hearts initiative has implemented simple World Health Organization (WHO) HEARTS hypertension and diabetes treatment protocols. In this editorial, we propose an approach of integrating statin treatment into existing HEARTS hypertension and diabetes protocols as a way of expanding statin coverage in low-and middle-income countries.
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