National CVD Prevention Coordinators (NCPC)

Introduction 

National CVD Prevention Coordinators (NCPCs) are appointed by the Presidents of National Cardiac Societies, with the following roles and responsibilities: 

• Facilitate the endorsement, adaptation, translation and publication of the European Guidelines on CVD Prevention
• Coordinate the development of CVD prevention tools at national level
• Liaise with the country’s Ministry of Health representatives
• Build national multi-disciplinary professional alliances and a close collaboration with relevant national societies in the field of CVD prevention
• Act as a direct and privileged contact for the EAPC

NCPC Representatives in the Prevention Implementation Committee (PIC):

• Iulia Kulcsar (Romania)
• Piotr Jankowski (Poland)

Aim: Enhance cooperation with all national coordinators around Europe and thus strengthen the effectiveness of the committee.

National CVD Prevention Coordinators

With the launch of the 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice, the national coordinators network has been renewed:

Coordinators to be appointed

NCPC activities

Country of the Month

Country of the Month reports on the state of prevention and rehabilitation are prepared by NCPCs with the aim to share best practices and to inspire health professionals in the field of preventive cardiology.

Overview of Preventive Cardiology in Europe

The Overview of Preventive Cardiology in Europe is a valuable source of information, based on the Country of the Month reports of the NCPCs which allows readers to compare cardiac rehabilitation and CVD prevention between different European countries. 

NCPC meetings and workshops

ESC Preventive Cardiology in Athens (April 2024)

21 national coordinators and representatives from 4 European risk regions participated in this workshop to discuss: "How is pre-participation screening (PPS) conducted across ESC member countries?" by answering those questions:

• In your country, is it mandatory to perform PPS in professional athletes?
• Is 12-lead ECG mandatory for PPS in professional and/or competitive athletes?
• Who is in charge of performing PPS in your country in professional and/or competitive athletes?
• Do you screen amateur athletes in your country and how?   

Workshop report

ESC Congress in Amsterdam (August 2023)

19 national coordinators and representatives from 15 different countries participated in this workshop with the objective to compare smoking cessation programmes across the countries in the different risk regions by focusing on:

• Daily smoking (% population aged 15+, age-standardised)
• Is smoking cessation covered by the national health insurance?
• Are there public/private centres for smoking cessation?
• Are there national programmes for smoking cessation?
• How accessible are smoking cessation programmes/centres?    

Workshop report

ESC Preventive Cardiology in Malaga (April 2023)

21 national coordinators and representatives from the 4 European risk regions participated to share their advice on patient management of two patient cases (primary and secondary prevention). Differences between the risk groups were identified and discussed.

Workshop report

EAPC Digital Roundtable (January 2022)

"2021 CVD Prevention Guidelines, from scientific guidance to clinical practice"

Objective: To inquire about progress in the implementation of the 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice since publication in the European Heart Journal in autumn 2021.

On 27 January 2022, the EAPC Prevention Implementation Committee (PIC) invited cardiologists from the network of National CVD Prevention Coordinators (NCPCs) and EAPC Young Ambassadors to a 90-minute online meeting. Physicians from 13 of the 16 invited countries with the highest age-corrected cardiovascular mortality participated.

Report and journal article “Prevention is better than cure but is not always possible in challenging circumstances“ (EHJ, March 2022)

ESC Congress in Paris (September 2019)

21 national coordinators and representatives met at ESC Congress 2019 to: 

• Get updates about the latest EAPC prevention activities
• Share prevention activities, implementation strategies and barriers in the different countries

Meeting report

EuroPrevent in Ljubljana (April 2018)

18 national coordinators and representatives from 17 different countries met at EuroPrevent in Ljubljana to discuss “big differences in the state of cardiac rehabilitation from country to country [and to] focus on cardiac rehabilitation”.

Meeting report

ESC Congress in Barcelona (August 2017)

27 national coordinators from 23 different countries shared their experiences, discussed the Overview of Cardiac Rehabilitation in ESC Member Countries initiative and presented "Prevention Pictures". 

Workshop report

EuroPrevent in Malaga (April 2017)

National CVD prevention coordinators and CCNAP national representatives from 14 different countries discussed the ESC Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Programme and other prevention implementation initiatives.

Workshop report

EuroPrevent in Lisbon (May 2015)

National CVD prevention coordinators from 11 different countries discussed prevention strategies.

Workshop report

Documents and resources 

• NCPC's roles and responsibilities
• 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice