Cardiologists call on Europe to adopt a prevention-focused cardiovascular health strategy

Cardiology specialists attending this Friday’s event “Through the Heart of Europe” at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Spain, organized by Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) and the Spanish Heart Foundation (FEC), in collaboration with Novartis, have requested that European institutions provide cardiovascular health strategy focused on prevention.

The purpose of the day was to call on the European Union to promote a cardiovascular health strategy that priority of prevention. The meeting, held on World Heart Day on 29 September, reviewed steps being taken to move towards a European strategy for cardiovascular health.

More than 1.7 million people died. in 2021 in Europe due to cardiovascular diseases, according to the latest Eurostat data. In Spain, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), more than 120,000 deaths occurred due to this cause in 2022, with these pathologies accounting for 26.1% of the total deaths.

Paradigm Shift

However, 80% deaths premature due to cardiovascular diseases can be preventedAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO). In this sense, the doctor Andres IniguezFEC President, stressed the need for a paradigm shift. “In contrast to the classical model, which focuses on the approach and treatment of disease, new strategies based on prevention should be prioritized through education and health promotion through a healthy lifestyle from childhood,” he pointed out.

This is one of the strengths of the NHS Cardiovascular Health Strategy (ESCAV). Spain is the only country with this type of strategy, which aims to improve the cardiovascular health of its population through a comprehensive approach. This is an ambitious and innovative plan not only in Europe but throughout the world, so experts believe it is necessary to speed up its implementation.

Problems

“Although research in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention is of great importance, perhaps our greatest challenge is to achieve apply what we already know to the population. In fact, data on the prevalence of various cardiovascular risk factors in the Spanish population still has clear room for improvement,” said the doctor. Jose TuñonExecutive Committee of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC).

Christmas CalventeDirector of Public Relations of Novartis Spain, emphasized that “prevention of cardiovascular diseases should be a priority which we must resolve as a society. Therefore, knowing our cardiovascular risk is key. As part of the initiatives promoted in this direction, secondary prevention should not be forgotten. People who have experienced a cardiovascular event require social network support that minimizes the risk of a recurrence of the event and its consequences with subsequent impact on their quality of life. As a company committed to the health of patients and people, we will continue to work and collaborate with all agents to achieve this goal.”