The EU’s heartfelt pledge to reduce the impact of cardiovascular diseases

On World Heart Day, 29 September, read the Commission’s Head of Unit for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Marianne Takki, about the impact of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, the European Commission’s work to promote cardiovascular health and about its upcoming initiative – the launch of the first EU Cardiovascular Health Plan.

How has the Commission been promoting better heart health?

To date, we have mainly been promoting cardiovascular health through our ‘Healthier Together’ EU non-communicable diseases initiative, which supports Member States and stakeholders in health promotion and disease prevention and in addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors.

Funded through the EU4Health programme, the Healthier Together initiative has provided more than EUR 160 million to support the implementation of actions aimed at reducing the impact of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This have been done via collaborative work (‘joint actions’) between Member States, and stakeholder-led projects.

Two key examples of collaborations between Member States are the Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes (JACARDI) and the Joint Action PreventNCD, both of which address CVDs and their risk factors.

JACARDI, supported with EUR 53 million, works to improve the early detection and screening of CVDs, while Member States in PreventNCD, supported with EUR 76 million, work together to develop effective prevention policies on NCDs.

EU-supported stakeholder-led actions on the prevention and management of CVDs include such projects such as PIA, a prevention project that supports policies developed by the Member States; PODiaCar, which works to reduce childhood obesity and improve cardiovascular health; and PREACT (PRophylactive Education & Actions for Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes), which is developing a web platform that helps promote early detection, improve health literacy, and raise awareness of CVDs and diabetes.

Why is an EU Cardiovascular Health Plan called for?

CVDs are the leading cause of death and disability in the EU, claiming over 1.7 million lives every year.

As heavy as that toll is – things are likely to get worse if we don’t do more on health promotion and prevention of CVDs. CVDs prevalence and mortality are projected to significantly increase by 2050, mainly due to the ageing population and other societal trends.

Not only do CVDs cost far too many lives, they also have a huge social and economic impact. They contribute to disability, lower the quality of life, and lead to early retirement, absenteeism and decreased productivity.

The healthcare costs and decreased economic output cost the EU around EUR 282 billion annually.

That’s why President von der Leyen’s political guidelines and her mission letter to the Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare call for the Commission to step up its work on preventive health, particularly for cardiovascular diseases.

And that’s precisely what we are doing through the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan.

How is the Plan being developed?

We aren’t starting from scratch – we are building on the valuable work we’ve done in the Healthier Together initiative, and taking inspiration from the successful approach of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. 

We will also be building synergies with strategic initiatives such as the European Health Data Space, the Critical Medicines Act, the Strategy for European Life Sciences, and the upcoming EU Biotech Act. 

That said, this is a new and specialised focus, and we wanted to throw the net wide to hear from as many stakeholders as possible. Stakeholders were invited to share their views and provide input through the call for evidence on the plan, which ran through 17 September. 

We are also consulting Member States and their national experts in the subgroup on NCD prevention of the Public Health Expert Group, and we organised several webinars with stakeholders, including one held on 29 September to coincide with World Heart Day, where Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, gave the opening speech and his full support.  

This collaborative approach not only ensures the plan provides what is most needed and will be most effective, it exemplifies the spirit of Healthier Together. By collaborating, pooling our expertise and sharing real life experiences, we will find the best way forward, together.