Advancing Cardiovascular Health Equity Globally Through Digital Technologies.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Digital health technologies are important public health interventions for addressing the burden of cardiovascular disease. In this article, we discuss the importance of translating digital innovations in research-funded projects to low-resource settings globally to advance global cardiovascular health equity. We also discuss current global cardiovascular health inequities and the digital health divide within and between countries. We present various considerations for translating digital innovations across different settings across the globe, including reciprocal innovation, a "bidirectional, co-constituted, and iterative exchange of ideas, resources, and innovations to address shared health challenges across diverse global settings." In this case, afferent reciprocal innovations may flow from high-income countries toward low- and middle-income countries, and efferent reciprocal innovations may be exported to high-income countries from low- and middle-income countries with adaptation. Finally, we discuss opportunities for bidirectional learning between local and global institutions and highlight examples of projects funded through the American Heart Association Health and Innovation Strategically Funded Research Network that have been adapted to lower-resource settings or have the potential to be adapted to lower-resource settings.

The influence of healthcare financing on cardiovascular disease prevention in people living with HIV.

BACKGROUND: People living with HIV are diagnosed with age-related chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, at higher than expected rates. Medical management of these chronic health conditions frequently occur in HIV specialty clinics by providers trained in general internal medicine, family medicine, or infectious disease. In recent years, changes in the healthcare financing for people living with HIV in the U.S. has been dynamic due to changes in the Affordable Care Act. There is little evidence examining how healthcare financing characteristics shape primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention among people living with HIV. Our objective was to examine the perspectives of people living with HIV and their healthcare providers on how healthcare financing influences cardiovascular disease prevention. METHODS: As part of the EXTRA-CVD study, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 51 people living with HIV and 34 multidisciplinary healthcare providers and at three U.S. HIV clinics in Ohio and North Carolina from October 2018 to March 2019. Thematic analysis using Template Analysis techniques was used to examine healthcare financing barriers and enablers of cardiovascular disease prevention in people living with HIV. RESULTS: Three themes emerged across sites and disciplines (1): healthcare payers substantially shape preventative cardiovascular care in HIV clinics (2); physician compensation tied to relative value units disincentivizes cardiovascular disease prevention efforts by HIV providers; and (3) grant-based services enable tailored cardiovascular disease prevention, but sustainability is limited by sponsor priorities. CONCLUSIONS: With HIV now a chronic disease, there is a growing need for HIV-specific cardiovascular disease prevention; however, healthcare financing complicates effective delivery of this preventative care. It is important to understand the effects of evolving payer models on patient and healthcare provider behavior. Additional systematic investigation of these models will help HIV specialty clinics implement cardiovascular disease prevention within a dynamic reimbursement landscape. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT03643705 .

The American Heart Association's Call to Action for Reducing the Global Burden of Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects ≈40 million people and claims nearly 300 000 lives each year. The historic passing of a World Health Assembly resolution on RHD in 2018 now mandates a coordinated global response. The American Heart Association is committed to serving as a global champion and leader in RHD care and prevention. Here, we pledge support in 5 key areas: (1) professional healthcare worker education and training, (2) technical support for the implementation of evidence-based strategies for rheumatic fever/RHD prevention, (3) access to essential medications and technologies, (4) research, and (5) advocacy to increase global awareness, resources, and capacity for RHD control. In bolstering the efforts of the American Heart Association to combat RHD, we hope to inspire others to collaborate, communicate, and contribute.

Prevention of cardiovascular disease for historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups living with HIV: A narrative review of the literature.

Despite developments to improve health in the United States, racial and ethnic disparities persist. These disparities have profound impact on the wellbeing of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups. This narrative review explores disparities by race in people living with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). We discuss selected common social determinants of health for both of these conditions which include; regional historical policies, incarceration, and neighborhood effects. Data on racial disparities for persons living with comorbid HIV and CVD are lacking. We found few published articles (n = 7) describing racial disparities for persons living with both comorbid HIV and CVD. Efforts to reduce CVD morbidity in historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups with HIV must address participation in clinical research, social determinants of health and translation of research into clinical practice.

Global burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in people with hepatitis C virus infection: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and modelling study.

BACKGROUND: More than 70 million people worldwide are estimated to have hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Emerging evidence indicates an association between HCV and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We aimed to determine the association between HCV and cardiovascular disease, and estimate the national, regional, and global burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to HCV. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, Ovid Global Health, and Web of Science databases from inception to May 9, 2018, without language restrictions, for longitudinal studies that evaluated the risk ratio (RR) of cardiovascular disease in people with HCV compared with those without HCV. Two investigators independently reviewed and extracted data from published reports. The main outcome was cardiovascular disease, defined as hospital admission with, or mortality from, acute myocardial infarction or stroke. We calculated the pooled RR of cardiovascular disease associated with HCV using a random-effects model. Additionally, we calculated the population attributable fraction and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) from HCV-associated cardiovascular disease at the national, regional, and global level. We also used age-stratified and sex-stratified HCV prevalence estimates and cardiovascular DALYs for 100 countries to estimate country-level burden associated with HCV. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42018091857. FINDINGS: Our search identified 16 639 records, of which 36 studies were included for analysis, including 341 739 people with HCV. The pooled RR for cardiovascular disease was 1·28 (95% CI 1·18-1·39). Globally, 1·5 million (95% CI 0·9-2·1) DALYs per year were lost due to HCV-associated cardiovascular disease. Low-income and middle-income countries had the highest disease burden with south Asian, eastern European, north African, and Middle Eastern regions accounting for two-thirds of all HCV-associated cardiovascular DALYs. INTERPRETATION: HCV infection is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The global burden of cardiovascular disease associated with HCV infection was responsible for 1·5 million DALYs, with the highest burden in low-income and middle-income countries. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation and Wellcome Trust.

Global Burden of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in People Living With HIV: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: With advances in antiretroviral therapy, most deaths in people with HIV are now attributable to noncommunicable illnesses, especially cardiovascular disease. We determine the association between HIV and cardiovascular disease, and estimate the national, regional, and global burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to HIV. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review across 5 databases from inception to August 2016 for longitudinal studies of cardiovascular disease in HIV infection. A random-effects meta-analysis across 80 studies was used to derive the pooled rate and risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV. We then estimated the temporal changes in the population-attributable fraction and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) from HIV-associated cardiovascular disease from 1990 to 2015 at a regional and global level. National cardiovascular DALYs associated with HIV for 2015 were derived for 154 of the 193 United Nations member states. The main outcome measure was the pooled estimate of the rate and risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV and the national, regional, and global estimates of DALYs from cardiovascular disease associated with HIV. RESULTS: In 793 635 people living with HIV and a total follow-up of 3.5 million person-years, the crude rate of cardiovascular disease was 61.8 (95% CI, 45.8-83.4) per 10 000 person-years. In comparison with individuals without HIV, the risk ratio for cardiovascular disease was 2.16 (95% CI, 1.68-2.77). Over the past 26 years, the global population-attributable fraction from cardiovascular disease attributable to HIV increased from 0.36% (95% CI, 0.21%-0.56%) to 0.92% (95% CI, 0.55%-1.41%), and DALYs increased from 0.74 (95% CI, 0.44-1.16) to 2.57 (95% CI, 1.53-3.92) million. There was marked regional variation with most DALYs lost in sub-Saharan Africa (0.87 million, 95% CI, 0.43-1.70) and the Asia Pacific (0.39 million, 95% CI, 0.23-0.62) regions. The highest population-attributable fraction and burden were observed in Swaziland, Botswana, and Lesotho. CONCLUSIONS: People living with HIV are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. The global burden of HIV-associated cardiovascular disease has tripled over the past 2 decades and is now responsible for 2.6 million DALYs per annum with the greatest impact in sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia Pacific regions. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero . Unique identifier: CRD42016048257.

Heart failure in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection: Epidemiology and management disparities.

BACKGROUND: Persons living with HIV are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease despite effective antiretroviral therapy and dramatic reductions in AIDS-related conditions. We sought to identify the epidemiology of heart failure (HF) among persons living with HIV in the United States in an era of contemporary antiretroviral therapy. METHODS: Explorys is an electronic healthcare database that aggregates medical records from 23 healthcare systems nationwide. Using systemized nomenclature of medicine-clinical terms (SNOMED-CT), we identified adult patients (age>18), who had active records over the past year (September 2014-September 2015). We described the prevalence of HF in HIV patients by demographics and treatment and compared them to HIV-uninfected controls. RESULTS: Overall, there were 36,400 patients with HIV and 12,208,430 controls. The overall prevalence of HF was 7.2% in HIV and 4.4% in controls (RR 1.66 [1.60-1.72], p<0.0001). The relative risk of HF associated with HIV infection was higher among women and younger age groups. Patients receiving antiretroviral therapy had only marginally lower risk (6.4% vs. 7.7%, p<0.0001) of HF compared to those who were untreated. Compared to uninfected patients with HF, HIV patients with HF were less likely to receive antiplatelet drugs, statins, diuretics, and ACE/ARBs (p<0.0001 for all comparisons). For patients with HIV and HF, receiving care from a cardiologist was associated with higher use of antiplatelets, statins, betablockers, ACE/ARBs, and diuretics. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with HIV are at higher risk for HF in this large contemporary sample that includes both men and women. Although the prevalence of heart failure is higher in older HIV patients, the relative risk associated with HIV is highest in young people and in women. HIV patients are less likely to have HF optimally treated, but cardiology referral was associated with higher treatment rates.