Three JACARDI pilots showcased at the 45th French Hypertension Days
At the 45th French Hypertension Days in Marseille in December 2025, the French Public Health Agency (Santé publique France) hosted a special session to showcase three innovative JACARDI pilot projects addressing hypertension.
This annual congress, organized by the French Society of Hypertension, brings together more than 500 healthcare professionals from French-speaking countries to share advances in hypertension management.
Session Highlights
The session opened with Dr. Clémence Grave, who presented key French epidemiological insights:
- Hypertension affects over 17 million French adults
- It accounts for nearly 9% of all deaths, yet 1 in 2 adults with hypertension remain unaware of their condition.
To bridge the gap between these alarming statistics and clinical practice, Dr. Grégory Lailler introduced the three main interventions within JACARDI, implemented in the framework of hypertension prevention and health promotion:
- Tension’Elles: A targeted intervention in maternity clinics to raise awareness among women who experienced hypertensive disorders during pregnancy about their future cardiovascular risk, while supporting healthier lifestyle changes. This intervention pilot introduces an innovative care pathway that improves follow-up for women and enhances coordination between hospitals and community care. By identifying risks early, it ensures a seamless transition for women, connecting them with community-health professionals to manage their long-term cardiovascular health and boost the health literacy in these populations.
- TAC (Tension Artérielle – les Chiffres): A public communication campaign to increase awareness of blood pressure numbers and hypertension thresholds, piloted in four high-prevalence French areas.
- TA Tension: A pharmacy-based screening program to identify undiagnosed or uncontrolled hypertension, with loaned self-measurement devices to confirm diagnoses. Leveraging the strategic role of pharmacists as accessible, frontline healthcare providers, this program decentralizes screening. It transforms local pharmacies into key diagnostic hubs, providing patients with low-threshold access to professional medical devices and expert guidance right in their neighborhoods.
Dr. Olivier Obrecht concluded by outlining the National Health Insurance’s nationwide strategies to combat hypertension:
- free self-measurement devices for all newly practicing general practitioners, ensuring better access to diagnostic tools;
- a nationwide awareness campaign to improve hypertension screening rates;
- a newsletter reaching nearly 30 million insured individuals, promoting prevention and early detection;
- an action plan against therapeutic inertia, assessing the effectiveness of antihypertensive treatments after prescription to optimize patient care.
Impact and Outcomes
The session generated strong interest from all healthcare professionals, especially regarding the implementation of new strategies at a national level to tackle the burden of hypertension. It fostered the following:
- Collaboration: a platform for professionals to exchange ideas and refine interventions with national and local stakeholders.
- Network expansion: opportunities to engage with new partners in the JACARDI project and align efforts across France.
The session offered a pivotal moment to unify stakeholders and strengthen collective action against hypertension.
Contributors:
In addition to the main author listed above, this article was prepared with contributions from Santé publique France:
Grégory Lailler, Clémence Grave, Diane Gozlan, Mounia El Yamani, Salima Afiri, Morgane Merat, Andrea Guajardo Villar