At an event held by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and the European Alliance for Cardiovascular Health (EACH) at Brussels’ European Parliament, policymakers, patient advocates and healthcare stakeholders gathered to discuss how Europe can strengthen cardiovascular prevention through earlier detection and structured health checks, as the European Union prepares its upcoming Council Recommendation under the Safe Hearts Plan.
Opening the event, MEP Aurelijus Veryga (ECR, Lithuania), host of the event, described cardiovascular disease as “one of the most important topics in the health field” and argued that the Safe Hearts Plan creates an opportunity to strengthen prevention, early detection and coordinated care across Europe.
“We’ve known for decades the risk factors that we need to address,” he said, calling for clearer targets, dedicated funding and stronger political commitment from Member States.
Eirini Agapidaki, Greek Alternate Minister for Health, then presented Greece’s national prevention strategy as an example of large-scale implementation already underway at Member State level and explained how the country shifted from fragmented, opportunistic screening toward a nationwide prevention system offering “free cardiovascular checks for citizens aged 30 to 70”.
She underlined that almost 4 million citizens have already undergone cardiovascular screening through Greece’s programme, with the system relying heavily on digital invitations, integrated care pathways and broad territorial coverage, including remote areas.
Prevention is cheaper than cure
“The question is no longer whether we have the knowledge or the tools,” she said. “The question is whether we can organise our systems to deliver prevention universally, fairly and effectively.”
She stressed that prevention should be treated as “a long-term investment rather than a healthcare cost”, highlighting the importance of political commitment, cross-ministerial coordination and predictable funding. Greece’s experience, she argued, demonstrates that large-scale prevention programmes can deliver measurable public health outcomes “when implemented systematically”.
Marianne Takki, Head of Unit at DG SANTE, outlined the Commission’s approach to the Safe Hearts Plan, adopted in December 2025 and structured around three pillars: prevention, early detection and treatment.
Takki explained that the upcoming Council Recommendation on cardiovascular health checks aims to help Member States establish more coordinated screening frameworks while addressing inequalities in access to care. She stressed that “cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in Europe”.
“We want to make sure that we increase awareness,” she said, encouraging stakeholders to contribute evidence and recommendations ahead of the final proposal.
Health checks are cost-effective and represent not a cost, but an investment
MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D, Lithuania) opened the first panel discussion by arguing that cardiovascular prevention must be framed as a health issue, and both an economic and societal priority. “Prevention is cheaper than cure,” he said, warning that Europe’s ageing population and rising burden of chronic disease make earlier intervention “increasingly urgent”.
Providing the clinical perspective, Dr. Tomas Lapinskas, President of the Lithuanian Society of Cardiology, detailed Lithuania’s cardiovascular screening programme, which has operated for nearly two decades and explained how Lithuania uses risk stratification models to guide patient follow-up and treatment pathways, while also highlighting “persistent regional inequalities and low participation rates in some areas”.
Future European guidance, he said, should focus on both participation rates and measurable outcomes, including reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. “What is important is not only to know the number, but to know what your number should be,” he said.
The patient perspective was then brought forward by Paul Quinn, stroke survivor and patient advocate, who warned that “awareness campaigns alone are often insufficient to change behaviour”. Reflecting his own experience, Quinn admitted that he ignored obvious cardiovascular risk factors for years before suffering two strokes. “People only change their behaviours when they identify with the person asking them to change,” he said, urging policymakers to involve patients more directly in prevention campaigns and public communication.
Radka Lang, Vice-chair of the EFPIA Cardiovascular Health Platform, stressed that screening programmes should be designed around “complete patient pathways” rather than isolated tests and that a Council Recommendation should include a clear commitment that every person receives a comprehensive cardiometabolic risk assessment by age 35, with regular reassessment thereafter to cover the full set of routinely assessed cardiovascular and cardiometabolic parameters, enabling earlier detection and prevention across the life course.
We have known for decades the risk factors that we need to address
“Everybody should know their numbers,” she said, advocating for earlier and more systematic monitoring of blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels and obesity indicators. Lang also called for stronger EU financial support mechanisms capable of helping Member States implement sustainable prevention programmes.
Lithuania’s experience in building a long-term national cardiovascular prevention programme and digital health systems was then highlighted by its Vice-Minister of Health, Laimutė Vaidelienė. She stressed that “while the scientific knowledge already exists, implementation across Europe remains fragmented and uneven”. Referring to Lithuania’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Vaidelienė said it aims to support a Council Recommendation on cardiovascular health checks capable of moving Europe “from fragmentation to coherence” through earlier detection, stronger follow-up care and more coordinated prevention systems.
Katherine de Bienassis, Health Policy Analyst at OECD, opened the second session by presenting comparative evidence showing that “fewer than half of EU countries” currently operate structured national cardiovascular health check programmes. She warned that gaps in follow-up care, data interoperability and patient outreach continue limiting the effectiveness of many existing systems. “Health checks that are not connected to appropriate follow-up care are a missed opportunity,” she said.
Speakers also discussed the close relationship between cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, as Bart Torbeyns, Executive Director at the European Diabetes Forum (EUDF), stressed that integrated screening programmes are essential because most patients living with diabetes “ultimately die from cardiovascular complications” rather than diabetes itself. “People with type 2 diabetes have about four times higher risk of cardiovascular disease,” he said, arguing that prevention systems must treat cardiometabolic conditions together rather than separately.
Dr. Walter Marrocco, General Practitioner and Scientific Manager at the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (FIMMG), warned that healthcare professionals need clearer referral pathways, additional workforce support and stronger digital tools if large-scale screening programmes are to succeed sustainably. “Primary care is always in the middle of the project,” he said, calling for organisational and financial reforms capable of supporting frontline healthcare workers.
Structured screening programmes can reduce hospitalisations and emergency care costs
Victoria Tzouma, Chair of the EFPIA Cardiovascular Health Platform, argued that cardiovascular health checks should be viewed as long-term investments rather than additional burdens on healthcare budgets. Referring to recent economic evidence presented during the event, she said that “structured screening programmes can reduce hospitalisations and emergency care costs” when linked to proper treatment pathways. “Health checks are cost-effective and represent not a cost, but an investment,” she said.
A broad agreement that Europe already has the evidence and the tools needed to strengthen cardiovascular prevention, but still faces major implementation gaps across Member States, marked the end of the discussion. As speakers aligned on the need for the Safe Hearts Plan to focus on funding, primary care capacity, referral pathways and measurable outcomes, experiences from Greece and Lithuania demonstrated how structured screening programmes can improve positive health outcomes when backed by political commitment.
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