Translating Evidence-Based Strategies for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and Management in Community and Clinical Settings: The Best Practices Clearinghouse

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) contributes to substantial health and economic burdens. In the United States, nearly half of the adult population (127.9 million in 2020) has 1 or more CVD-related conditions. Effective evidence-based approaches to prevent and treat CVD exist, yet it can take several years to incorporate scientific findings into practice. As a result, many practitioners are unaware of these public health and clinical strategies. To address this gap and reduce the lag between science and practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Best Practices Clearinghouse for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and Management (BPC). The BPC facilitates the widespread implementation of 18 effective strategies for heart disease and stroke prevention and management, and the platform remains flexible and responsive to new evidence as it emerges. To demonstrate the functionality of the BPC and highlight key features of the platform, we present content from 2 strategies as examples: (1) Lifestyle Modification Programs to Control Hypertension, which helps patients increase healthy behaviors and reduce the risk of further complications or declining cardiovascular health, and (2) Cardiac Rehabilitation to Support Recovery From Cardiac Events, which combines physical activity, health education, and counseling to help patients recover after a cardiac event. The BPC uses a unique approach that supports CVD prevention and management by summarizing evidence for strategy effectiveness, policy and law considerations for strategy implementation, the ability to foster user engagement and information sharing through forms to submit feedback and resources, and clear examples of all 18 strategies in action.