Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the World Health Organization (WHO) Region of the Americas, with uncontrolled hypertension as the main modifiable risk factor. Their frequent coexistence with kidney and metabolic conditions creates an interconnected cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic burden and highlights gaps in prevention, detection, continuity, integration, and quality of care. HEARTS in the Americas is one of the largest regional implementations of the WHO’s Global HEARTS initiative and a central platform for strengthening primary care.

Objective: This study estimates the prevalence of weight misperception among Costa Rican adolescents in general and examines its association with body esteem and weight-control behaviors to inform public health policy.

Objective: To evaluate factors associated with the adoption of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preventive health behaviors among adults in Antigua and Barbuda. 

This paper describes the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at The University of the West Indies and its role in building public health capacity in the English-speaking Caribbean. DrPH reports, student assessments and external reviews were used to describe the development of the DrPH program. The program was established in 2009 as a part-time competency-based program over 4–7 years delivered by face-to-face and distant learning modules, electives, field placements, and research leading to a thesis.

Objective: To analyze the implementation status of the HEARTS initiative in Chile’s primary healthcare network based on the results of self-assessment of quality in the domains fidelity, feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness. 

The HEARTS initiative in the Americas, aimed at reducing cardiovascular mortality through the control of hypertension, required significant contextual adaptation for its successful implementation in Cuba. This article analyzes the organizational strategy and key innovations used to adapt the model to the national context, which enabled the program to expand from a single demonstration site (2016) to 451 primary care centers nationwide (2022).

Guatemala faces a growing burden of chronic noncommunicable diseases, with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus being the leading contributors to cardiovascular mortality and progression to chronic kidney disease. In 2022, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance began implementing the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization’s HEARTS technical package to strengthen the prevention and clinical management of these conditions in low- and medium-complexity health care facilities.

Objective. To describe an experience with community health champions in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases within the framework of the HEARTS initiative, taking into account territorial characteristics.

11 AUGUST 2026, WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dermatophilosis, a bacterial skin infection characterized by localized skin lesions, is rare in humans and has historically been transmitted through contact with infected animals.

The HEARTS initiative in the Americas is a key strategy for strengthening primary health care and improving the management of high blood pressure, the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In the Dominican Republic, its implementation has evolved toward an institutionalized model focused on quality, governance, and access to medications.