In December 2025, the European Commission launched its Safe Hearts Plan in a decisive move that places Europe’s most important killer firmly on the public health agenda. But how does the plan become real progress?
The Safe Hearts Plan comes after years of efforts by cardiovascular health community stakeholders, including the ESC and other partners of the European Alliance for Cardiovascular Health, who demonstrated the need for urgent action. Evidence from the ESC Atlas of Cardiology was pivotal in highlighting the major health challenges posed by CVD. Data have been collected and analysed from more than 50 ESC member countries over the last decade to provide a comprehensive picture of CV health and care across Europe.
As ESC Atlas marks its 10th year, the latest statistics are not to be celebrated, according to Professor Adam Timmis and Professor Steffen Petersen, senior authors of the latest ESC Atlas report [1]. “Data now show that CVD was responsible for more than 3 million deaths and 68 million disability-adjusted life years annually. These are not abstract statistics − they represent lives lost too early, people living with long-term illness and health systems under growing pressure,” said Prof. Timmis. Persistent and avoidable inequalities remain, with middle-income countries experiencing roughly double the mortality of high-income nations.
The increasing prevalence of risk factors is also apparent. Prof. Petersen notes: “The progress made in reducing the CVD burden is at risk of being offset by the epidemic of obesity and diabetes. The scale of the healthy life years lost due to modifiable risk factors supports urgent efforts to improve prevention across a person’s life and early detection.”
Of note, one of the flagship actions within the Safe Hearts Plan is the development of a common EU approach to CV health checks. This has been supported by the ESC and other medical societies who have provided recommendations on the most clinically relevant elements that can be implemented at scale.
On an individual level, everyone is encouraged to #KnowYourNumbers. At ESC Congress, this concept is being put into practice in Zone ICM, Level 0, next to the Registration Area. Here you can take part in a clinical study sponsored by the ESC and chaired by Professor Ulf Landmesser and Professor Ursula Rauch-Kröhnert. The main objective is to assess CV risk among ESC Congress 2026 attendees with a focus on healthcare professionals and the self-awareness of participants. In 15 minutes, you can learn more about your CV risk factors and contribute to raising recognition of the importance of prevention and early detection.
Participants have the opportunity to get to know their own numbers with a quick and simple CV health check, including measurement of blood pressure, waist circumference, lipid profile, Lp(a), HbA1c, hsTnI, hsCRP, NT-proBNP and serum creatinine. These checks reflect the broader ambition of the Safe Hearts Plan: moving towards earlier risk identification, management and prevention.
“Ten years of ESC Atlas data have helped show where the gaps are − the Safe Hearts Plan now provides an opportunity to act on them,” concludes Professor Susanna Price, ESC Vice President and Chair of the Advocacy Committee. “The next challenge is implementation: supporting National Cardiac Societies as they work with policymakers in EU Member States to translate the framework into national action that reflects local health-system realities. At the same time, the evidence, learning and ambition generated should inform the wider ESC community, because CVD does not respect administrative borders. To deliver real change, we need sustained collaboration between policymakers, healthcare professionals, patients, public-health bodies and partners across sectors, turning this from a plan on paper into measurable health gains.”