World Heart Podcasts

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In this episode of the Global Heart Podcast, host Pablo Perel is joined by co-host Prof. Raul Santos and guests Prof. Julie Redfern and Prof. Sidney Smith to discuss the launch of the new World Heart Federation Roadmap on Cardiac Rehabilitation and its companion implementation paper in Global Heart. Together, they explore how cardiac rehabilitation can evolve from a short-term programme following a cardiac event into an entry point for lifelong cardiovascular health. 

Prof. Redfern explains how the new Roadmap broadens the traditional concept of cardiac rehabilitation to include people across a wider range of cardiovascular conditions. The discussion looks beyond exercise alone to the comprehensive management of cardiovascular risk factors, including physical activity, diet, smoking, medication, blood pressure and psychosocial health, supported by multidisciplinary teams. 

The guests examine some of the major barriers preventing people from accessing cardiac rehabilitation worldwide, from limited workforce capacity and funding to inflexible models of care, low awareness and a lack of advocacy. They discuss the need for more personalised and flexible approaches, as well as stronger engagement from patients, clinicians, policymakers and health systems. 

The conversation also highlights practical examples from around the world, including a hybrid model in Malawi that combines centre-based rehabilitation with family-supported exercise at home, and approaches in China that demonstrate how rehabilitation can be adapted to local communities and cultures. The guests reflect on the importance of global standards while recognising that successful implementation will look different across countries and healthcare settings. 

The episode also explores the companion Global Heart paper, which takes the Roadmap a step further by focusing on how its recommendations can be implemented in practice, including implementation frameworks, research priorities and practical strategies for turning evidence into action. 

Tune in to discover how the new Roadmap aims to reshape cardiac rehabilitation, expand access to effective care and support lifelong cardiovascular health for people around the world.

Further reading and resources:

World Heart Federation Roadmap on Cardiac Rehabilitation
Nature Reviews Cardiology – Roadmap paper

Companion paper: Implementation of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Roadmap
Global Heart – Implementation paper

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In this episode of the Global Heart Podcast, host Pablo Perel is joined by Prof. Roger Blumenthal and Prof. Maciej Banach to discuss the latest advances in lipid management and global cardiovascular prevention. Together, they explore two landmark publications: the 2026 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia and the recent Global Heart paper, Global Lipid Guidance: More Aligned Than They Appear.

Prof. Blumenthal explains the major updates in the new guidelines, including earlier lipid screening, lifetime cardiovascular risk assessment, LDL cholesterol targets, lipoprotein(a) testing, coronary artery calcium scoring, and personalised approaches to cholesterol management. He highlights why earlier intervention and evidence-based prevention are critical to reducing cardiovascular disease worldwide.

Prof. Banach discusses the growing alignment between international lipid guidelines and the importance of early and intensive LDL cholesterol lowering, combination lipid-lowering therapy, and personalised treatment strategies. The conversation also examines therapeutic inertia, implementation challenges, health system barriers, and how education, lifestyle interventions, and global collaboration can improve cardiovascular prevention across diverse healthcare settings.

Together, they reflect on the future of dyslipidemia management, the need for better implementation of existing evidence, and why preventing cardiovascular disease requires both strong clinical practice and coordinated public health action.

Tune in to learn how the latest lipid guidelines are shaping the future of cardiovascular prevention and what they mean for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and health systems around the world.

Further reading and resources:

2026 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia
https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2025.12.014

Global Lipid Guidance: More Aligned Than They Appear (Global Heart)
https://globalheartjournal.com/articles/10.5334/gh.1559

World Heart Federation – Cholesterol Resources
https://world-heart-federation.org/heart-health/cholesterol/

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In this episode of the Global Heart Podcast, host Pablo Perel speaks with Prof. Alta Schutte and Prof. Dorairaj Prabhakaran about one of the world’s biggest cardiovascular challenges: hypertension control. From accurate blood pressure measurement to delivering effective treatment at scale, they explore what it will take to improve hypertension care globally.

Prof. Schutte explains why measuring blood pressure correctly remains a major global health issue, highlighting the importance of validated devices, proper training, home monitoring, and the growing, but still evolving, role of wearables and digital technologies in hypertension detection and management.

Prof. Dorairaj discusses practical strategies for hypertension treatment, including combination drug therapy, task-sharing with non-physician healthcare providers, digital health tools, and scalable delivery models for low-resource settings. The conversation also explores barriers to implementation, public health approaches, and how policy, health systems, and innovation can work together to improve blood pressure control worldwide.

Together, they reflect on key research priorities, the future of hypertension care, and why tackling high blood pressure requires both strong clinical practice and bold population-level action.

Tune in to learn how better measurement, smarter treatment, and public health innovation could transform hypertension control across the globe.

Further reading and resources:

World Heart Federation – Hypertension Resources:
https://world-heart-federation.org/what-we-do/hypertension/

WHO guidance on the ethics of health research priority setting:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240110953

Comparison of dual therapies for hypertension treatment in India: a randomized clinical trial (Nature Medicine):
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03854-w

Wearables and Cuffless Blood Pressure Measurement – Evidence, Challenges, and Clinical Perspectives:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41371-024-00932-3

Research Priorities for Hypertension Control and Blood Pressure Measurement:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12826266/

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In this episode of the Global Heart Podcast, host Pablo Perel speaks with Prof. Bruce Neal about excess salt consumption, hypertension, and the growing evidence behind potassium-enriched salt substitutes as a practical strategy to reduce cardiovascular disease globally.

Prof. Neal explains why traditional salt reduction efforts have struggled, how potassium-enriched salt works, and what major studies — including the landmark Salt Substitute and Stroke Study (SSaSS) — reveal about its impact on blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular events, and premature death.

Together, they discuss safety considerations, implementation challenges, affordability, global guideline recommendations, and why this approach may have particular potential in low- and middle-income countries.

Tune in to learn how rethinking salt could help transform hypertension prevention worldwide.

WHO Guideline on Lower-Sodium Salt Substitutes:

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240105591

Read more about the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study (SSaSS):

https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/clinical-trials/2021/08/26/01/19/ssass

Further reading:

• World Heart Federation – Hypertension Resources
  https://world-heart-federation.org/what-we-do/hypertension/
  
  
• European Hypertension Guidelines
  https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/45/38/3912/7741010

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In this episode, host Pablo Perel and co-host Raul Santos are joined by Prof. Karen Sliwa and Prof. Amitava Banerjee to explore the ongoing impact of long COVID and its relationship with cardiovascular disease. Drawing on recent global research, the discussion highlights why long COVID remains a significant public health issue, particularly for people with cardiovascular risk factors, and examines its long-term effects on symptoms, quality of life, and health systems .

The conversation covers findings from the WHF Global COVID-19 Long-Term Follow-up Study, as well as new evidence on the role of vaccination in reducing long COVID risk and insights from specialist post-COVID care services. Together, the speakers discuss prevention, integrated care, and key lessons for future pandemic preparedness.

Tune in to understand how long COVID continues to shape cardiovascular health—and what can be done to improve outcomes.

Read the featured papers:

WHF Global COVID-19 Long-Term Follow-up Study (Global Heart)
https://globalheartjournal.com/articles/10.5334/gh.1452

Vaccination and prevention of Long COVID (Nature Communications)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65302-0

Long-term follow-up in a specialist post-COVID service in the UK (BMJ Open)
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/1/e103884.long

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This episode is hosted by Pablo Perel, Senior Science Advisor at the World Heart Federation. He is joined by Dr. Jilliane Code, researcher, educator and heart transplant recipient, and Dr. Vagner Madrini Junior, cardiologist and Deputy Editor of Global Heart Journal.

Together, they explore heart failure from both the lived experience and clinical perspective. Dr. Code shares her powerful journey—from initial misdiagnosis in her twenties to advanced heart failure, transplantation, and long-term recovery—highlighting the emotional impact of hearing the words “heart failure,” the challenges of navigating complex treatment pathways, and the importance of patient empowerment.

Dr. Madrini Junior explains in accessible terms what heart failure is, its most common causes and symptoms, why diagnosis can be challenging, and how medication adherence and clear communication between healthcare professionals and patients are essential to improving outcomes.

Their conversation underscores the importance of listening to patients, addressing communication barriers, and fostering a multidisciplinary approach to care. Above all, it offers reassurance that with education, support, and partnership, people living with heart failure can lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Scientific publication (PubMed):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41032214/

Blog – Heart Failure to Harvard:
https://heartfailuretoharvard.com

Documentary – My Broken Heart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF7Pv7EZ308&t=308s

HeartLife Academy:
https://heartlife.academy

HeartLife:
https://heartlife.com

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World Heart Federation host Shreya Shrikhande speaks with Mike Lane from the Amyloidosis Army and David Gregory from the Amyloidosis Alliance on their powerful journeys with ATTR-CM. 

They share the challenges of misdiagnosis, treatment access, community support, and the urgent need for awareness and early detection of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

Find out more about Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy ATTR-CM on World Heart Federation website. 

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Host Pablo Perel and co-host Prof. Raul Santos talk with Dr Jiao Luo about Mendelian randomisation (MR) in cardiovascular research, what it is, core assumptions (relevance, independence, no horizontal pleiotropy), common pitfalls (weak instruments, population mismatch, non-linearity), and how to read MR papers. 

The episode references:

Unraveling the Causal Links Between Immune Cells, Lipids, and Cardiovascular Diseases: Insights from Mendelian Randomization  and 

Mendelian Randomisation: Concepts, Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions. 

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In this episode, host Pablo Perel speaks with Mr. Girma Dessie and Dr. Andrew Moran about a powerful example of real-world cardiovascular implementation research from Ethiopia.

Mr. Dessie presents a recent study investigating why patients enrolled in a hypertension program were missing follow-up visits, despite strong program support and a standardized care model. The discussion covers the challenges of conducting field research in low-resource settings, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest—and how their findings directly informed national health policy changes in Ethiopia.

Dr. Moran, co-author of the study and deputy editor of Global Heart, introduces the journal’s new section “Lessons from the Field,” aimed at amplifying implementation and operational research from low- and middle-income countries. He explains how this new platform will support practitioners and policymakers by bringing visibility to local innovations that improve cardiovascular care.

Tune in to learn how frontline research can drive evidence-based policy, improve retention in care, and shape global cardiovascular health strategies.

Read the featured paper in Global Heart:
Factors Associated with Hypertension Care Follow-Up in the Ethiopia HEARTS Program

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This episode is hosted by Sean Taylor, Director of Science and Public Health at the World Heart Federation, and Shreya Shrikhande, Science and Public Health Officer in the same team. They speak with two patients, Maria and Chandrima, who share their personal journeys with angina.

Although their experiences are different—one facing years of uncertainty, the other enduring rapid, severe symptoms—both describe the struggle to receive a diagnosis and to have their symptoms taken seriously. They discuss the ongoing impact of angina on their daily lives, including physical, emotional, and social challenges.

Their stories highlight the importance of recognising non-typical presentations, listening to patients, and ensuring better awareness and support for those living with angina.