New Program to Increase Awareness and Knowledge of Cardiovascular Diseases Globally

We all know someone who has suffered from a cardiovascular disease (CVD), which include disorders of the heart and blood vessels such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.

Did you know CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)? Perhaps even more worrisome is the fact that more than three-quarters of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. To increase understanding of this globally important issue, the CDC Foundation and Amgen are partnering on a new global cardiovascular health initiative to support independent epidemiological research by the University of Oxford and technological and evaluation research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The five-year effort aims to expand the evidence base for CVD risk factors, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, by supporting the collection and analysis of data to improve understanding of the causes of CVD and interventions that may improve patient outcomes.

This partnership will strengthen the global evidence base for CVD risk factors, support training and fellowships to develop future leaders in CVD epidemiology and explore the feasibility of point-of-care testing in low- and middle-income countries. This partnership will incorporate the expertise and technical assistance of globally recognized health research organizations through three distinct work streams: 

  • Support existing epidemiological studies in countries such as Cuba, India, Mexico and Russia that are part of the Richard Doll Consortium―the world's largest consortium of principal investigators coordinated by the University of Oxford;  
  • Test the suitability of point-of-care testing devices in selected low- and middle-income countries to be conducted by the CDC Lipids Standardization Program; and 
  • Evaluate the current hyperlipidemia data environment to establish a baseline of existing evidence on hyperlipidemia burden, diagnostics and treatment.

We are grateful to Amgen for their support of this project, and look forward to expanding the evidence base for CVD risk factors and improving lives in low- and middle-income countries.



Photo of Rachna Chandora
Rachna Chandora, MPH, is vice president for the noninfectious disease programs for the CDC Foundation.