The European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network, with the support of the European Commission and the World Health Organization - European Region, have developed the first European Heart Health Charter designed to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Europe which was launched on 12 June 2007, at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Each year, CVD kills over 4.35 million people in the 53 member states of the World Health Organization European Region and more than 1.9 million in the European Union (EU). It is responsible for 55% of all deaths in women across Europe and 43% of the deaths in men, killing more people than all cancers combined. The cost of CVD on the EU economy is estimated to be approximately 169 billion euros a year.
The European Heart Health Charter is a moral agreement between partners and signatories to help implement the Charter aims at a European and national level to contribute their efforts to a heart healthier Europe.
The Charter sends a strong and clear message as to what European scientists, health professionals, public foundations, the European Commission and the WHO-Europe Region believe health promotion in Europe should focus on.
The European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network, along with all signatory organisations, invite International and European organisations and nation states to adopt the European Heart Health Charter in order to promote cardiovascular health and support the 2000 Valentine’s Declaration:
"Every child born in the new millennium has the right to live until the age of at least 65 without suffering from avoidable cardiovascular disease."
For further information, please contact Sophie O’Kelly, European Affairs Coordinator.
