LOMA LINDA, CA — The School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College, in partnership with Loma Linda University Health, launched the Health Assessments and Rapid Transformation (HEART) Initiative in San Bernardino County, California. The five-year initiative aims to reduce cardiovascular disease by building community-based healthy longevity zones – places where individuals can age well with stability, dignity, and access to care – by aligning clinical care, community assets, and policy levers in San Bernardino and other cities with alarming cardiovascular rates. Novartis, an innovative medicines company, is supporting HEART as the lead founding partner.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for nearly one in every three deaths nationwide. One person dies every 34 seconds – about 80 percent of which are preventable. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identifies high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking as the leading contributors to heart disease, as well as acknowledging Lp(a) as a genetically inherited and independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In San Bernardino, heart disease death rates are among the highest in California although it shares a county with Loma Linda, one of the only Blue Zones® communities in the U.S. – a contrast that underscores the geographic and systemic factors that impact cardiovascular health.
“In the U.S., a person’s cardiovascular risk and outcomes are shaped not just by their biology, but by where they live, what they can afford, and what resources are available to them,” said Daniel E. Dawes, JD, SVP of Global Health and Founding Dean, School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College. “The fact that San Bernardino shares a county with one of the world’s designated Blue Zones yet has alarmingly high rates of heart disease serves as a call to action. We are thrilled to partner with Loma Linda University Health and a host of other partners to answer that call through the HEART Initiative, a sustained, community-grounded effort to close that gap and build something that will outlast our five-year commitment.”
The HEART Initiative will also roll out in Detroit in partnership with Corewell Health and Nashville at Meharry but is not a research program that will just be dropped into these cities. Instead, the local programs will be guided by community voices, powered by research, policy, and technology, and designed to create models that can be replicated and scaled nationwide. The goal is not just better outcomes over five years, but it is to build infrastructure, relationships, and local ownership so progress continues long after the initiative ends.
In addition, HEART is guided by a distinguished National Advisory Council (NAC) that includes the 18th U.S. Surgeon General, and leaders from national health associations including the American Heart Association, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, AARP and other organizations with different constituencies, agendas, and approaches but a shared belief that cardiovascular disease is solvable together.
“Loma Linda University Health has served the San Bernardino community for more than a century. We know its strengths and we know its challenges,” said Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, President, Loma Linda University Health (LLUH). “The HEART Initiative gives us the opportunity to bring together the clinical expertise, research rigor, and community relationships we’ve built over generations to do something we have not been able to do alone. We are proud to partner with national leaders who share our commitment to make people whole.”
The San Bernardino launch convened health system leaders, community partners, elected officials, and members of the initiative’s NAC for a community discussion and ceremonial partnership signing on the campus of LLUH. San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, who received a special recognition for the city’s participation in the initiative, joined leaders from LLUH, Meharry and a coalition of local community leaders and health partners.
For more information on the HEART Initiative, visit MeharryGlobal.org/Heart.
