APEC economies have endorsed and launched the Roadmap to Advance Sustainable Cardiovascular Health and Economic Resilience in APEC Economies 2026-2030 at the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, strengthening regional action on one of the Asia-Pacific’s most pressing health and economic challenges. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 19.8 million lives in 2022 alone, while placing a growing burden on health systems, households and economies across APEC. Population ageing and rising levels of cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, obesity and diabetes, are contributing to the growing burden.

Led by Thailand, with Peru and the Philippines as co-sponsors, the roadmap provides an evidence-informed framework for economies to strengthen cardiovascular health across six priority areas: policy leadership and governance; prevention and risk reduction; early detection and diagnostics; emergency and acute care; treatment, rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and health system enablers.

The APEC CVD roadmap provides an important opportunity to strengthen regional collaboration while supporting economies to advance cardiovascular health in ways that reflect their own priorities and health system contexts. No single economy can overcome the escalating burden of CVD in isolation. By sharing knowledge and experience, we can strengthen health systems and build a more resilient response to this common threat," said Dr. Phongsak Nitikaroon, Deputy Director General of the Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand during his opening remarks.

The roadmap is voluntary and non-binding, and is intended to support continued dialogue, evidence-sharing and practical action across APEC, while recognizing the diverse circumstances and priorities of individual economies. It also contributes to APEC’s broader efforts to strengthen health system resilience and recognize the links between health, productivity and sustainable economic growth. By supporting action across the cardiovascular care continuum—from prevention and early detection through treatment, rehabilitation and secondary prevention—the roadmap provides economies with a common framework to consider how stronger cardiovascular health can contribute to healthier populations, more resilient health systems and more sustainable economies.

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