The Hypertension Excellence Centre programme of the European Society of Hypertension - current status, activities and reshaping for the future.

To describe the history of the Excellence Centre (EC) programme of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) since the beginning in 2006, its achievements, and its future developments. We list the number of ECs per country, the research projects performed so far, and the organisational steps needed to reshape the EC programme for the future. In August 2023, the ESH EC programme includes 118 registered ECs in 21 European and 7 non-European countries. Updates about the formal steps for application, re-application, transfer of EC and retirement of EC heads are given. The EC programme of the ESH has been a success from the beginning. Further refinements will make it fit for the next decades.