PAHO highlights pressing must speed up hypertension management – PAHO/WHO

Over 6 million persons are receiving remedy for hypertension via the HEARTS within the Americas initiative, which is energetic in 28 nations throughout the Region—and 60% of them have achieved blood stress management.

New York, September 23, 2025 (PAHO)— At a United Nations General Assembly facet occasion on the Yale Club, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa known as for pressing motion to scale up hypertension management within the Americas.

Co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Resolve to Save Lives, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the occasion coincided with the discharge of WHO’s second Global Hypertension Report, which reveals 1.4 billion folks worldwide dwell with hypertension, however just one in 5 have it beneath management.

“The report confirms what we already know: hypertension remains the world’s deadliest yet most manageable health threat,” Dr. Barbosa mentioned. “Behind these numbers are millions of preventable strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, dementia, disabilities, and premature deaths.”

The WHO report particulars gaps in hypertension prevention and remedy, particularly in low- and middle-income nations the place solely 28% have constant availability of all WHO-recommended hypertension medicines in pharmacies or major care amenities, in comparison with 93% in high-income nations. Uncontrolled hypertension prices these nations an estimated US$3.7 trillion between 2011 and 2025—about 2% of their mixed GDP.

Yet, “successful interventions are possible—and they are happening,” Dr. Barbosa emphasised. Countries that prioritize hypertension management, undertake sturdy public well being insurance policies like lowering salt and tobacco, and strengthen major care with standardized protocols and entry to medicines are seeing higher outcomes.

HEARTS initiative: A mannequin for fulfillment

HEARTS within the Americas initiative—which implements WHO’s Global HEARTS technical package deal—exemplifies this progress. “Today, 33 countries are committed to HEARTS, 28 are actively implementing it, 12 have integrated it into over 80% of their primary care networks, and more than 10,000 facilities participate. Over 6 million people are receiving hypertension treatment, with 60% achieving blood pressure control.”

He highlighted HEARTS’ transformative influence: In El Salvador and Cuba, HEARTS has catalyzed the transformation of major care. In the Dominican Republic, greater than 4 million folks now profit from free remedy for hypertension and diabetes. In Chile, educated pharmacists and nurses handle sufferers following the HEARTS scientific pathway, based mostly on a task-shifting mannequin. In Ecuador, HEARTS coaching has been adopted as a nationwide technique. Additionally, 1.5 million well being staff have been educated via PAHO’s Virtual Campus.

He famous that HEARTS has proven how proof may be translated into motion at scale—“by simplifying clinical decisions, improving continuity of care, enabling task-sharing, and ensuring reliable access to medicines and validated devices.”

The initiative can also be serving to nations reimagine how they handle cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic ailments in major care. “These achievements prove the tools work—and give us confidence that we can accelerate progress in hypertension control and management of NCDs even further.”

Scaling up for Sustainable Development Goals

With simply 5 years left to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.4—lowering untimely mortality from NCDs by one-third—Dr. Barbosa harassed the urgency of increasing profitable interventions. “PAHO is building on the successes of HEARTS to scale up the comprehensive ‘Better Care for NCDs’ initiative,” he mentioned. He additionally highlighted the PAHO Strategic Fund, which helps pooled procurement of quality-assured medicines and applied sciences at aggressive costs.

“We know the cost of inaction — millions of lives lost prematurely to preventable diseases,” Dr. Barbosa concluded. “The tools exist, the evidence is clear, and now is the time to act with urgency, equity, and solidarity to ensure that we achieve the global targets for NCDs, leaving no one behind”.