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Global Translational Medicine Recent community-based CVD interventions

as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and shifting from broad public health campaigns to more
smoking; however, growing evidence suggests that targeted, culturally tailored approaches. Early large-scale
community-based interventions, beyond simple screening, initiatives, such as the Framingham Heart Study and the
may be a strong pathway to optimize the control of these National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, laid
risk factors. In the US, CVD-related healthcare costs the groundwork for understanding cardiovascular risk
3-6
including direct costs, related to disease management factors at the population level. 9-11 However, these studies
and indirect costs in the forms of lost productivity primarily informed clinical guidelines rather than directly
and early mortality, accounted for approximately US$ engaging communities. The realization that traditional
400 billion dollars in 2019. Based on 2022 US dollar healthcare settings alone were insufficient in preventing
7
value, annual inflation-adjusted CVD spending is CVD and addressing disparities led to the emergence of
projected to increase to US$1.8 trillion by 2050. These community-driven interventions, particularly for high-
8
alarming forecasts highlight the urgent need to prioritize risk populations.
and expand efforts in CVD prevention, focusing on One of the earliest and most influential models was the
community-based interventions, which have the potential
to offer cost-effective measures that substantially reduce Church/Community Health Awareness and Monitoring
12-14
healthcare costs imposed by CVD. In this perspective Program in Baltimore, Maryland, during the late 1970s.
piece, we explore recent advancements in community- This initiative mobilized church volunteers from roughly
based cardiovascular interventions, emphasizing recent 100 local churches to conduct blood pressure screenings
and referrals in predominantly Black communities.
US-based advancements, while drawing connections This approach laid the foundation for later barbershop-
to select global initiatives where relevant. We examine based hypertension programs, where trusted community
strategies such as digital health programs, community-led
behavioral interventions, and policy-driven approaches, figures facilitated engagement in cardiovascular care. In
with an emphasis on their impact on health equity. While the 1990s, the Healthy Heart Community Prevention
this perspective focuses on marginalized and underserved Project (HHCPP), led by New Orleans locals Daphne
communities, it is important to recognize that community- Ferdinand, PhD RN, and Keith Ferdinand, MD, in
based interventions to promote a healthier lifestyle New Orleans, Louisiana, expanded on this model,
and minimize CVD risk factors can, and should, be integrating faith-based health messaging and barbershop
implemented in all populations. and hair salon hypertension screening programs to
improve cardiovascular awareness in African American
2. Methodology populations. 15,16

For this perspective, we conducted a literature review The early 2000s saw the rise of policy-driven
using PubMed, focusing on studies published in English cardiovascular interventions, including the Million Hearts
between 2023 and 2025, to capture recent advancements initiative, a national program launched in 2012 by the
in community-based cardiovascular interventions. Our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers
search strategy combined MeSH terms and title or abstract for Medicare & Medicaid Services to prevent one million
17
keywords related to CVDs, community health services, heart attacks and strokes within 5 years. The initiative
and implementation science. We prioritized original focuses on system-wide improvements in cardiovascular
research, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), care and collaborates with community organizations,
community trials, and implementation studies, while pharmacies, local health departments, faith-based groups,
excluding meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Although and employers to promote hypertension control, smoking
the systematic search included only studies from 2023 cessation, and heart-healthy behaviors beyond traditional
to 2025, we incorporated relevant older studies where clinical settings. In addition, studies such as the Los Angeles
appropriate to provide historical context and strengthen Black Barbershop Blood Pressure Study demonstrated the
key discussions. The review encompassed lifestyle, digital power of pharmacist-barber collaborations, achieving
health, policy-based, and culturally tailored interventions significant blood pressure reductions through community-
aimed at improving cardiovascular outcomes, particularly based medication management. 18
in underserved populations. Internationally, the North Karelia Project in Finland,

3. Brief history of the evolution of launched in 1972, remains one of the most successful large-
scale community interventions. By targeting dietary
19
community-based CVD interventions changes, smoking cessation, and blood pressure control
Community-based cardiovascular interventions have through community and government collaboration, North
evolved significantly over the past several decades, Karelia achieved remarkable reductions in CVD mortality

Volume 4 Issue 3 (2025) 52 doi: 10.36922/GTM025170040