Members of the European Parliament Heart Group (MEP HG) meet today (9 December), in Brussels, with the Cardiology profession and representatives of national Heart Foundations to evaluate the achievements at EU level in combating Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), and to reveal the need for further action.
With the title 'Achieving Heart Health in Europe: Why the European Parliament Matters', the meeting is the first since the European elections in June this year. During the 2004-2009 term, the MEP Heart Group was the largest forum on health in the European Parliament. The group resumes now its activities which endeavour to raise heart health as a priority on the EU political agenda. CVD is the number one killer in Europe, accounting for over 2 million deaths in the EU alone and costing the EU over 190 billion Euros each year. (1)
Mr Dirk Sterckx MEP, Co-chair of the MEP HG, believes that "the European Union has a major role to play in fostering heart health promotion and developing wide-ranging prevention strategies. The European Parliament has set the example with the 2007 Resolution on action to tackle cardiovascular disease (2). However, the recent declining trends in CVD deaths in Europe are now slowing down. This is very worrying; it represents an alarm call to the European Commission and the Council."
"The EU cannot turn its back on CVD", agrees Linda McAvan MEP, Co-chair of the MEP HG. "Evidence does exist that prevention brings significant health gains. It is therefore the task of decision makers at European and national level to ensure that effective policies supporting prevention are put in place."