{"id":34930,"date":"2025-09-28T23:09:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T22:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ispah.tecology-hosting.co\/?p=34930"},"modified":"2025-09-28T23:09:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T22:09:56","slug":"world-heart-day-2025-dont-miss-a-beat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ispah.tecology-hosting.co\/fr\/world-heart-day-2025-dont-miss-a-beat\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Miss a Beat: Mobilizing the Physical Activity Workforce to Address Hypertension"},"content":{"rendered":"

A call to action for physical activity leaders to help close the global hypertension care gap.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hypertension is one of the most preventable contributors to heart disease, and physical activity is one of the most powerful tools we have to address it. Yet globally, physical activity remains under-promoted and under-prescribed, especially in clinical settings. This year\u2019s World Heart Day<\/a> theme, \u201cDon\u2019t Miss a Beat\u201d<\/em>, is a timely reminder that heart health depends not just on medicines and clinics, but also on making care accessible, affordable, and sustainable, particularly through lifestyle interventions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

High blood pressure affects nearly 1.8 billion people worldwide \u2013 that\u2019s about one in three adults. Managing this condition requires regular check-ups, medicines, and lifestyle support. But here\u2019s the problem: many countries simply don\u2019t have enough health workers to meet the need. This challenge affects not only low- and middle-income countries but also many high-income countries, where physician shortages limit care for millions with chronic conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Heart\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Female community volunteer doing blood pressure screening in Nepal (source: Dinesh Neupane)<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This brings us to a forthcoming global study that highlights the scale of the challenge\u2014and the opportunity to rethink how care is delivered. The upcoming study in Hypertension looked at 199 countries and territories, using data on doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and community health workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It asked a big question: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do we have enough people in the health system to care for everyone with hypertension?<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The answer: not even close if we rely only on physicians. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is particularly concerning when we consider that lifestyle interventions, especially physical activity promotion, are essential components of hypertension prevention and management. Primary care providers of all types\u2014including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and community health workers\u2014can and should play a role in encouraging physical activity as part of routine care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In low-income countries, there are just 1.9 doctors for every 10,000 people. In high-income countries, the number jumps to 33.8 per 10,000. Even if patients require only one visit per year, many health systems around the globe would still be unable to meet the demand.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding team-based care<\/strong> including nurses, pharmacists, and community health workers collectively helped close this gap, and in fact the study showed that team-based care created a surplus in 36 countries. However, many low- and middle-income countries continue to face large deficits, highlighting the urgent need for stronger and more inclusive workforce strategies<\/strong>. While not the scope of the study, expanding roles for other health professionals, such as exercise physiologists, could open new avenues for physical activity promotion and better chronic disease management.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This workforce gap presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the physical activity community. Exercise physiologists, physiotherapists, health promotion officers, community health workers, and even digitally enabled health coaches are already supporting behavior change\u2014could they also support screening, referral, and lifestyle counselling for hypertension? These professionals can be trained to deliver blood pressure screening, provide immediate physical activity advice, and connect patients to ongoing support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach aligns with ISPAH\u2019s \u20188 Investments That Work for Physical Activity<\/a>\u2019, which identifies healthcare, community-wide programs, public education, workplaces, and urban design as key domains for action. A coordinated approach across these domains can amplify the impact of workforce innovation and embed physical activity into every level of screening, prevention and care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Heart\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Number of people living with high blood pressure around the globe (data: World Bank). For more graphical results, follow the link https:\/\/shivarajmishra.github.io\/HTNGaps3D\/<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does this mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relying only on physician only care models are unsustainable. To control hypertension and prevent heart attacks and strokes, we need to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n