Bangladesh HEARTS: Lessons Learned from a National Hypertension Control Program, 2018–2026

To improve hypertension control and prevent cardiovascular disease in Bangladesh, the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh and Resolve to Save Lives collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to launch the Bangladesh Hypertension Control Initiative (BHCI). The BHCI implemented the WHO-HEARTS hypertension control package in four primary health care facilities (Upazila Health Complexes or UHCs) in 2018, then scaled up to 51 UHCs in 2021, 172 UHCs by 2024, and 320 UHCs by May 2026, covering about 54 million of 108 million adults (~43% coverage). By May 2026, the BHCI had enrolled 739,057 hypertensive patients and achieved 59% blood pressure (BP) control (<140/90 mmHg based on BP measured in the prior three months among all enrolled patients). The BHCI is a scalable model for hypertension control programs in other low- and middle-income countries. For sustained high-quality national scale-up, uninterrupted supply of medicines by the government and accurate information systems are crucial.