At present, there are Collaborating Centres in: Germany (Scientific Institute of Medical Practice, Walldorf), Italy (WHO Collaborative Centre for Research in Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention in CVD, Udine; Preventive Cardiology Service, Area Science Park, Trieste; Catholic University of Rome), United Kingdom London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), United States (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; Stanford Centre for Research on Disease Prevention and Centres for Disease Prevention and Control), Russian Federation (National Centre for Preventive Medicine, Moscow) and Canada (Health Canada).

The first objective of this component is to establish a telematics application for the timely dissemination through the Internet (and/or intranets) of knowledge and experience on the implementation of heart health interventions (public health, health promotion, clinical) directed to individuals at high risk or communities. The "Promoting Heart Health" component of subproject #3 contributes the public health and health promotion perspectives to the continctuni of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

The second objective is to develop capacity to enhance professional and public education through the Internet and to establish databases for improving prevention of CVD and its attendant risk factors.

Databases, searchable with a common protocol, are to be established in Collaborating Centres to distribute resources and to capture information from case-studies and projects in areas such as worksite health promotion, school health, community-based heart health initiatives, risk factor screening programs, major national campaigns, professional education, dissemination of clinical guidelines, and cardiac rehabilitation.

Users and sources of case-studies include national and international health agencies, preventive health services, medical institutes, community health coalitions, health promotion organizations, NGO's, media and industry.