The Pan American Cardiovascular Health Initiative (PACI) is an initiative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the USA. The main objective of the initiative is to contribute to the prevention and control of CV diseases in the Americas through establishment of performance based demonstration projects and training opportunities.

• Demonstration projects are focused on the implementation and evaluation of cardiovascular community health programs using the lay health workers model in the Americas.
• Training opportunities are developed as a part of the CARMEN school, to increase awareness and knowledge regarding healthy behaviors and practices in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The Regional effort for implementation of CVD prevention and control is guided by providing scientific programmatic evidence, guidelines for policy development, and stakeholder involvement. 

The Initiative concentrates its efforts in 4 demonstration projects for implementation and evaluation of community based interventions led by lay health workers to promote cardiovascular health that are being developed in CARMEN demonstration areas of Chile, Argentina and Guatemala.