Improving cardiovascular health in rural China and beyond

In 2021, high blood pressure claimed 11·3 million lives globally. 1 Vaduganathan M Mensah GA Turco JV Fuster V Roth GA The global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk: a compass for future health. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022; 80: 2361-2371 Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar High blood pressure has ranked consistently as the top modifiable risk factor globally for over 20 years. Although its prevalence is universally high, awareness, management, and control of high blood pressure are particularly poor in low-income and middle-income countries. 2 Geldsetzer P Manne-Goehler J Marcus ME et al. The state of hypertension care in 44 low-income and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative individual-level data from 1·1 million adults. Lancet. 2019; 394: 652-662 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (219) Google Scholar Several cluster randomised controlled trials have shown that community health worker-led interventions were effective in significantly reducing blood pressure in Argentina (the HCPIA trial), 3 He J Irazola V Mills KT et al. Effect of a community health worker-led multicomponent intervention on blood pressure control in low-income patients in Argentina: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2017; 318: 1016-1025 Crossref PubMed Scopus (108) Google Scholar Malaysia and Colombia (the HOPE 4 trial), 4 Schwalm JD McCready T Lopez-Jaramillo P et al. A community-based comprehensive intervention to reduce cardiovascular risk in hypertension (HOPE 4): a cluster randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2019; 394: 1231-1242 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (102) Google Scholar and Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (the COBRA-BPS trial). 5 Jafar TH Gandhi M de Silva HA et al. A community-based intervention for managing hypertension in rural South Asia. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382: 717-726 Crossref PubMed Scopus (86) Google Scholar More recently, in 2022, Sun and colleagues 6 Sun Y Mu J Wang DW et al. A village doctor-led multifaceted intervention for blood pressure control in rural China: an open, cluster randomised trial. Lancet. 2022; 399: 1964-1975 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar showed that in the China Rural Hypertension Control Project (the CRHCP trial), a village doctor-led intensive hypertension intervention increased hypertension control by 37% compared with usual care. The 18-month net reduction in systolic blood pressure was as large as 14·5 mm Hg. Effectiveness of a non-physician community health-care provider-led intensive blood pressure intervention versus usual care on cardiovascular disease (CRHCP): an open-label, blinded-endpoint, cluster-randomised trialThe non-physician community health-care provider-led intensive blood pressure intervention is effective in reducing cardiovascular disease and death. Full-Text PDF