The EU-27 Ministers of Health have unanimously adopted the Council Conclusions on the Improvement of Cardiovascular Health in the EU, marking a strong political commitment towards improving cardiovascular health across Europe.  

The European Commission is to develop a new European Cardiovascular Health Plan, aimed at putting cardiovascular health ‘front and centre’.

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) welcomed the announcement to take action on cardiovascular health in Europe, using the Beating Cancer Plan as a framework example. 

At the EU level, the ESC said, momentum must be maintained to allocate appropriate EU funding for interventions, promote investment in research and development and expand registries to improve cardiovascular care. 

“The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) strongly supports the milestone recommendations outlined in the Council Conclusions, which invite member states to adopt or update cardiovascular health measures within stand alone or wider non-communicable diseases strategic agendas. 

Member states are called upon to strengthen health promotion, improve health literacy, address socioeconomic determinants, mitigate workplace hazards, promote cardiovascular health checks, and foster equal access to healthcare and rehab services.

“This is a turning point for advancing the cardiovascular health of European citizens, and the ESC is ready to support the development of the EU Cardiovascular Plan as well as efforts to ensure the Council Conclusions will be successfully transformed from written commitments into concrete actions”, Prof Thomas Lüscher, ESC president, said.