As the primary cause of preventable hospitalizations in Europe, heart failure significantly burdens individuals and healthcare systems, with costs reaching up to EUR 30 billion annually. A strategic approach involving early diagnosis and optimal care could potentially reduce these hospitalizations by around one-third. Therefore, it is imperative for the European Union to commit to enhancing heart failure detection and care within any forthcoming cardiovascular health initiatives.
“The importance of this area is illustrated by the fact that cardiovascular diseases are the most common of all public health problems and the leading cause of death not only in Hungary but also in the European Union and worldwide. While cancer, perhaps the most dreaded of all diseases, accounts for 26 percent of all deaths in the European Union, the figure for cardiovascular diseases amounts to 37 percent,” Dr. Béla Merkely, Rector of Semmelweis University and patron of the event, told our website. He stressed that during the Hungarian EU Council Presidency, the top priority of the health sector was to combat cardiovascular diseases and to develop a common EU action plan as Hungary was committed to the prevention and effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU has taken a significant step towards improving population health and ensuring the sustainability of European health systems by initiating the European Cardiovascular Health Plan. However, it is vital for priorities aimed at enhancing heart failure outcomes to be prominently featured in such a plan. These priorities must then be embraced by policymakers throughout the region to align with the EU’s commitment to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.4—to reduce non-communicable disease-related deaths by one-third by 2030.
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The discussions, also attended by Dr. Judit Bidló, Deputy State Secretary for the Professional Management of Health at the Ministry of Interior, encompassed various key topics, such as improving the quality of life for individuals with heart failure, establishing efficient and sustainable care mechanisms including telemedicine, ensuring early detection, expanding workforce capabilities through multidisciplinary teams and specialized nursing roles, and driving forward research and policy efforts to enhance heart failure outcomes.
The event concluded with the introduction of a policy proposal co-created by the Heart Failure Policy Network and the Hungarian Society of Cardiology. This policy submission, backed by members of the European heart failure community, underscores the necessity of addressing heart failure to alleviate the cardiovascular disease burden in Europe.
It advocates for policy interventions in five critical areas, proposing to:
- Highlight to Ministers of Health that heart failure is the leading cause of preventable hospital admissions in Europe;
- Guide Member States to improve early diagnosis;
- Expand workforce capacity in heart failure and widen access to cardiac rehabilitation to reduce hospital admissions;
- Recognize the links between high cardiovascular risk and multiple long-term conditions, and
- Drive EU-funded research and knowledge exchange.
Established in 2015, the Heart Failure Policy Network (HFPN) is an independent, multidisciplinary group working to improve the lives of people living with heart failure by raising awareness of unmet needs. Its members and supporters include healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, policymakers, and other stakeholders from across Europe.
Heart Failure Policy Network, Judit Szabados-Dőtsch
Image credit: Heart Failure Policy Network
