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 year.

En décembre 2022, l’Institut Choiseul France, groupe de réflexion indépendant, a publié une note stratégique sur l’urgence cardiovasculaire en France.... View Article

On 15 November 2022, leading Members of the European Parliament Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy) and Maria da Graça Carvalho (EPP,... View Article

On 22 June, the European Commission, unveiled the guiding document of the “Healthier together, EU Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) Initiative” during... View Article

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 towards improving detection of SHD. “No citizen should be left behind and die because of a lack of a heart check” – MEP Pascal Arimont

On Wednesday 15 June, the SHD Coalition organised an event in the Flemish Parliament with the goal of drawing attention to the lack of awareness and the importance of early detection related to SHDs in Flanders. Central to the event was a session during which MPs were given the opportunity to undergo a short heart screening performed by Coalition Steering Committee Member and cardiologist Prof. Dr. Christophe Dubois.