title: Promoting cardiovascular health worldwide: strategies, challenges, and opportunities.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world, affecting not only industrialized but, above all, low- and middle-income countries, where it has overtaken infectious diseases as the first cause of death and its impact threatens social and economic development. The increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease in recent years together with projected mortality for the coming decades constitute an irrefutable argument for the urgent implementation of well-planned interventions to control the pandemic of cardiovascular diseases, especially in the more economically deprived countries. The combination of behavioral, social, environmental, and biological factors, and others related to health care systems, that contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases requires a multi-sector strategy that promotes a healthy lifestyle, reduces cardiovascular risk factors, and cuts mortality and morbidity through quality health care services. These proposals should be guided by leaders in the scientific community, government, civil society, private sector, and local communities.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Institute, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY, United States; Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: jose.castellano@mountsinai.org.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Castellano
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Institute, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Jagat
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narula
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Institute, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY, United States; Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Valentín
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fuster
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014943:Global Health; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D055502:Secondary Prevention
keywords: Cardiovascular health promotion; Cardiovascular prevention; Cardiovascular risk factors; Enfermedad cardiovascular global; Factores de riesgo cardiovascular; Global cardiovascular disease; Prevención cardiovascular; Promoción de la salud cardiovascular