Promoting Global Cardiovascular Health to Advance the Sustainable Development Agenda

Abstract

The burden of cardiovascular disease has declined in high-income countries in the past 3 decades but is growing in low- and middle-income countries due to epidemiological, demographic, and socioeconomic shifts. A range of cost-effective policies and interventions are available for advancing cardiovascular health (CVH) through primordial, primary, and secondary prevention. We showcase multifaceted challenges that stifle the global progress of CVH including shortcomings in financial protection, health systems, primary health care, national health policies, service coverage, and surveillance. We highlight the under-acknowledged global disparities in health expenditure and health workforce capacities. We emphasize the need of addressing social and commercial determinants of health and a more granular analysis of challenges to implement context-appropriate national CVH responses, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Finally, we propose progressive realization of universal health coverage and national health policy reform as sustainable strategies for overcoming the barriers to achieve CVH in order to reduce premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases by one-third by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4).