Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart disease and stroke, is the main cause of death and a major cause of disability in Europe. It is estimated that 80% can be prevented. Small reductions in incidence and mortality lead to large health gains and reductions in direct and indirect health care costs. CVD costs the EU economy € 192 billion every year and it is the main contributor to inequalities in health. Health gains will particularly benefit less-advantaged groups. The EuroHeart II project will report on and analyse the current situation with regard to cardiovascular and circulatory diseases in the EU. The project will allow a strategic approach that will also help addressing other non-communicable diseases. The project will provide outputs that can be used to develop Community initiatives to promote cardiovascular health.  The EuroHeart II project recieves co-funding from the European Union in the framework of  the Health programme.

The specific objectives of EuroHeart II are:

• To provide the most up to date statistics on CVD in Europe (including a cost of disease study in the EU) and analysing these data (work Package 4)
• To identify the most effective and cost effective CVD prevention policies (work package 5)
• To predict future coronary heart disease (CHD) trends (work package 6)
• To share knowledge on nutrition, physical activity and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in Europe (work package 7)
• To build capacity in the cardiovascular patients’ community (work package 8)
• To evaluate the ESC-EASD guideline on prevention of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients (work package 9)

The expected outcomes are:

• To allow decision makers to develop CVD prevention policies based on the most up- to-data statistical and economic data, analyses and scientific impact models
• To empower wider stakeholders groups to assess and address the situation in their countries
• To help empowering the CVD NGO sector to have a larger impact on health related nutrition and physical activity policy in their countries through conferences and meetings presenting the latest evidence
• To assist in strengthening the impact of the CVD patient community in the decision making process through sharing of knowledge and experience
• To contribute to improving the outcome of diabetic patients with CVD through providing information on practice characteristics related to the implementation of the diabetic guideline and changes in health outcomes and comparing countries in Europe where the guideline has been extensively disseminated and those countries where the guideline has been poorly disseminated.

The EuroHeart II project runs from March 2011 till February 2014. It receives co-funding from the European Union in the framework of  the Health programme.

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting in its behalf is liable for any use made of this information.