Introduced by the European Commission on 3 May 2022, the European Health Data Space is a proposal for a regulation that aims to reform how patients’ health data is shared across the EU both for primary care and secondary purposes, such as research and policymaking.

On 21 November 2022, the European Commission adopted and published the priorities and actions, including the allocation of resources, for the implementation in 2023 of the EU4Health programme as established under Regulation (EU) 2021/522 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The French government has presented on February 27, 2023, the principles of its pension reform. One of the main ambitions is to raise the legal retirement age to 64, meaning 43 years of contribution will now be required to receive a full pension. It will also consider long careers and the drudgery of work.

Joining the handful of countries that have a national plan on cardiovascular (CV) health, Poland adopted its innovative “National Program for Cardiovascular Diseases - National Cardiac Strategy for 2022-2032”

In the coming weeks and months, the French parliament will examine a text on aging well in France, which represents an opportunity to include the prevention and detection of age-related diseases, including structural heart disease, as one of the elements for preserving autonomy and building a society of aging well.

On 15 December 2022, the EU SHD Coalition organized a press conference with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of early detection of structural heart disease, SHD, such as valvular heart disease in Germany. The various discussions emphasized the importance of early detection, as cardiovascular diseases are still the most common cause of death in Germany with about 340,000 deaths per…

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Pascal Arimont from Belgium and Brando Benifei from Italy have recently organised a public hearing on Structural Heart Disease (SHD). The key outcome of this hearing was increased awareness of SHD amongst policymakers and members of the European Commission. MEP Arimont highlighted that the European Parliament has a role to channel current EU budgets…

Structural heart diseases (SHD) are set of cardiovascular diseases affecting the structure of the valves, atria, ventricles, and blood vessels in the heart. The majority of these conditions are degenerative, which means that they primarily affect the elderly. It is estimated that 14 million people in Europe were living with SHD in 2020, and that by 2050, this cipher will increase to 23 million.

Dr. Jorge Solís Martín, coordinator of the departments of cardiac imaging and valvular heart disease at the University Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, writes an article about why valvular heart disease is an increasing public health threat in the Spanish schedule and how the coalition has helped focus institutional attention on these conditions.

In a blog in Elconfidencial's Aliments, Dr.…

Members of the Coalition, as well as eminent and recognised experts on SHDs in Spain, Prof. Rodriguez-Roda Stuart and Prof. José Luis Zamorano-Gomez provide their view on the situation of SHD care in Spain and on the political stakes to act towards better detection and prevention on SHD.

Prof. José Rodriguez-Roda Stuart is Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Unit at Hospital Ramón y Cajal…

After only 9 months of existence, the Coalition positively looks back at 2021 and looks forward to contributing towards the creation of EU Joint Action for Structural Heart Disease at EU level and from Member States, now more relevant than ever.

French president Emmanuel Macron presented the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU Starting in January 2022, this Presidency offers various opportunities to reinforce a European approach for an active and healthy Europe.

Improving the early detection of cardiovascular and structural heart disease in Germany : 5 proposals from German experts roundtable

The report of the EU4Health stakeholder’ consultation has been published and outlines the conclusions of both the consultation and the webinar that followed. The report includes the importance of tackling CVDs, including SHDs, for the first time.

On this special day, Brando Benifei MEP shared a letter to the European Commissioner for Health and food safety Stella Kyriakides calling for a joint action on SHD in the framework of the EU4Health programme.

On 15 September, an event organised in the National Assembly by MP Annie Vidal and MP Paul Christophe gathered key stakeholders, including the French delegated Minister for Autonomy Brigitte Bourguignon, to discuss the inclusion of active and healthy ageing in the forthcoming French EU Presidency.

The EU SHD Coalition was invited to present its proposals for an EU Joint Action at a recent EU Commission’ webinar on EU4Health

The SHD Coalition gathered on September 7th for its first plenary meeting. It was the occasion for members to meet (virtually) and to present the activities achieved in the framework of the Coalition’s objectives.

On 13 July 2021, the Italian Heart Foundation gathered SHD and cardiology experts, MEPs, Government representatives and Institutions for a synergic step towards Italy supporting the SHD Joint Action goal. A study carried out by CEIS - Center for Economics and International Studies (Tor Vergata University, Rome) points out SHD impact on the Italian social welfare system: data leaves no time but for…

Read the interview of Steering Committee member, Prof. Paolo Magni, who spoke about the development of the International Longevity Centre’s report (ILC) titled “The invisible epidemic: Rethinking the detection and treatment of SHD in Europe” and discussed the many problems patients have in accessing medical treatment.

At a virtual event organized by think tank Friends of Europe, political supporter of the SHD Coalition, Brando Benifei MEP, called for urgent action on structural heart diseases and reiterated the need for the EU-wide introduction of heart health checks for people above 65 years…

In its response to the European Commission’s Green Paper on ageing, the SHD Coalition highlights the urgent need to tackle age discrimination when treating SHDs. The Coalition is calling for an EU Joint Action …

Ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary election in May, on 15 March Scottish Conservative Deputy Public Health Spokesperson and Parliamentary Health and Sport Committee Member Brian Whittle MSP hosted a virtual roundtable Healthy Hearts, …

On 1 March 2021, a virtual event co-hosted by MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy) & MEP Maria Da Graça Carvalho (EPP, Portugal) took place...

A date for your diary! Virtual event co-hosted by MEPs Brando Benifei and Maria de Graca Carvalho titled “Towards a more resilient ageing population in Europe: building a coalition on Structural Heart Diseases”...

In the course of a Belgian Parliamentary Roundtable on 20 January 2021, Members of the Federal Parliament Els Van Hoof (CD&V), Laurence Hennuy (Ecolo), and Gitta …

On 20 January 2021, the parliamentary event Structural Heart Diseases and Ageing: Investing in Belgium's future today was organised. It saw the successful launch …

After taking part in a virtual debate on the impact of COVID-19 and structural heart disease in the elderly, socialist Senator Esther Carmona proposed …

The unanimous decision to adopted a motion on SHD represented the conclusion of a lengthy process in the Lazio region...

On 19 October the Spanish Confederation of Elderly Organisations (CEOMA) organised a virtual event with policymakers and experts to discuss the role of the heart …

Last year, a letter on the European Joint Action to support the fight against Structural Heart Diseases (SHD) in Germany and the EU was sent to the German Ministry of Health.

In September 2020, Scottish Labour Public Health Minister David Stewart led a debate in the Scottish Parliament marking Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week in the UK...

In July 2020, a proposal for a bill was introduced by MP Agnès Firmin Le Bodo (Agir, Seine-Maritime) in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic...

COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for people with an underlying heart condition, such as structural heart disease. As population ageing in Europe increases, so too does the percentage of people with undiagnosed and untreated …

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of heart valve disease as an underlying cause of a number of COVID-19-related (a) complications and (b) deaths.

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the prevalence of heart valve disease, and what action it is taking to provide access to treatment for older people with this condition to (a) support healthy …

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made in the frequency of stethoscope usage during GP visits for people over 65, and what steps it is taking to resume the detection of structural heart diseases among this group …

MEP César Luena (S&D, ES) wrote to the European Commission on its new EU4Health programme which aims to ‘improve the resilience of health systems and ensure better health outcomes for all’. …

Senator Catherine Deroche mentioned structural heart diseases during a public session held on the law proposal on the citizen rescuer...

During the COVID-19 emergency, there has been a delay of elective surgery which has caused a significant reduction of treatment of heart valve disease. Combined with scarce diagnostic capacities this leads to …

On 25 May 2020, the Member of the Belgian Federal Parliament (MP) Els Van Hoof submitted a parliamentary question on the way Belgium plans to …

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide treatment for people with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions during the COVID-19 lockdown

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make an assessment of the reported increase in number of deaths from non-COVID-19-related diseases during the lockdown period...

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people with severe heart valve disease have access to minimally-invasive treatment that can reduce time spent in hospitals to help reduce their exposure to COVID-19 …

Structural heart disease is a growing problem in Belgium. It is currently estimated that 240,000 Belgians suffer from structural heart disease and almost half a million people are expected to be affected by these diseases by 2040 …

A high-level meeting called ‘Active ageing: new balance and priorities in a changing society’ took place in Rome at the Ministry of Health on 23rd November 2019 to focus on Structural Heart Disease...

On October 1st, 2019, an event dedicated to structural heart disease and active ageing took place in the National Assembly...

ONDA Foundation organized a Regional event on Structural Heart Diseases ‘To the heart of Active Ageing in Milan on 18th September 2019 under the auspices of the Lombardia Region...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Implementation Framework of the NHS Long Term Plan facilitates delivery of (a) improved equity in access to treatment for...

During a Roundtable held by the Galicia Sur Health Research Institute at the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital in Vigo, several experts discussed the current …

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to less invasive treatments for structural heart diseases throughout the regions of England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national screening programme for structural heart diseases.

In July 2019, French MP Bernard Perrut (Les Républicains, Rhône) interrogated the Minister of Solidarity and Health about the care of people suffering from structural heart disease...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of heart disease screening programmes for the elderly on (a) the incidence of preventable disease and (b) NHS costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of preventable deaths caused by heart disease; and whether he has made an assessment of whether improving screening for older …

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the early detection of heart valve disease in primary care settings; and what assessment he has made of trends in the level of stethoscope usage …

MEP Sandra Gancia spoke out on SHD and the relevance of this issue in the framework of healthcare and social policies in...

That this House notes the urgent need to introduce a national population screening for structural heart diseases for adults over 65 years old; recognises the need to tackle challenges that structural heart diseases pose to older people and …

MEP Brando Benifei urges for EU Member States Joint Action to tackle SHD and foster active ageing: a new balance and new priorities are set for a rapidly changing society...

What is the Commission’s view on making screening for structural heart disease and other age-related conditions part of the EU Health Programme?

By 2020, 20% of the EU’s population will be aged over 65, and by 2040 that number will have increased to almost 30%. EU Member States will have to adapt their economic and social structures to cope with the increase …

On 21 November 2018, a cover story was published by the Cortriere della Sera Salute regarding the need for a better quality of life and a healthy active ageing are not only achievable but a must-reach-for imperative and a main goal for EU...