DCP3: Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Related Disorders

This report from the World Bank is the fifth volume of the Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (DCP3) series. It addresses the disease burden of cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders (CVRDs), which account for more than half of global adult deaths, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. While CVRDs are mostly preventable or can be treated to reduce morbidity, such interventions are costly and require greater capacity to detect and treat early. When combined with the persistent scourge of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, CVRDs in low-income countries create a double burden of disease. This report summarizes the most current evidence about effective, scalable, and cost-effective interventions, and describes the health platforms that can deliver these interventions to curtail increasing risk for chronic conditions and diseases.

The Disease Control Priorities Network (DCP) promotes and supports the use of economic evaluation for priority setting at both global and national levels, providing the most up-to-date evidence on intervention efficacy and program effectiveness for the leading causes of global disease burden. DCP3 presents its findings in nine individual volumes; the first eight focus on conceptually related health challenges—essential surgery, maternal/child health, cancer, mental and neurological disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, major infectious diseases, injury prevention, and child and adolescent development—and each package addresses the disease burden, interventions, policies, and economics of that cluster of health issues. The ninth volume provides an overview with main findings and conclusions about achieving health priorities. DCP3 chapters, background papers, articles, reports, briefs, and related resources are publicly accessible.