Project: European Heart Failure Mission

European Heart Failure Mission
Driving political urgency in heart failure across the EU.

What is the European Heart Failure Mission?

The European Heart Failure Mission aims to secure political recognition and investment for heart failure from the European Union (EU).

In October 2023, we launched our Mission Statement at an event at the European Parliament. This event, hosted by Billy Kelleher MEP and gathering together 50 members of the heart failure community from across Europe, kicked off a multi-year campaign to drive heart failure to the top of the political agenda.

For too long, heart failure has been overlooked by policymakers despite its significant impact on individuals and society as a whole.

The EU is taking on a bigger role in healthcare via the European Health Union and has demonstrated strategic leadership in other disease areas, such as cancer. We believe this shows there is a significant opportunity to drive improvements in heart failure diagnosis and care through the creation of similar EU strategies and initiatives. As the HFPN, we support the calls for a cardiovascular health plan that includes a dedicated strand on heart failure.

The European Heart Failure Mission will continue to develop over time and we look forward to sharing updates about our activities and progress.

Recent key achievements

  • Policy submission to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan, on why addressing heart failure is vital for delivering an impactful plan.
  • Policy submission to the Hungarian Ministry of Interior on five priority policy areas to address heart failure and reduce cardiovascular disease in Europe.
  • Two written responses from the European Commission on tabled questions on underrepresentation of heart failure.
  • 6 European policymakers spoke at the Mission launch event
  • Mission delegates met with 10 MEPs, 3 health attachés and 2 NGOs.
  • 3 MEPs agreed to table a question on HF to the European Commission
  • 24 organisations formally endorsed the Mission Statement
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Who supports the European Heart Failure Mission?

The European Heart Failure Mission is co-created with a working group formed of 14 leading heart failure advocates in Europe. The Mission draws together representatives of patient organisations, professional societies and other research and clinical institutions.

As with all HFPN work, the Mission is also endorsed by the HFPN Steering Committee, Members and Supporting Organisations.

Micheál Martin, Tánaiste (Deputy Head of Government) of Ireland, showed his support for action on heart failure in his address at the European Heart Failure Mission event at the European Parliament on 25 October 2023. He called for increased European action on improving prevention, detection and diagnosis of heart failure. Watch the Tánaiste’s address here:

Policy Champions

https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/demetris-papadakis/
Demetris Papadakis
Member of the European Parliament
Profile
https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/frances-fitzgerald/
Frances Fitzgerald
Former Member of the European Parliament
Profile
https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/alessandra-moretti/
Alessandra Moretti
Member of the European Parliament
Profile
https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/barry-andrews/
Barry Andrews
Member of the European Parliament
Profile
https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/sirpa-pietikainen/
Sirpa Pietikäinen
Former Member of the European Parliament
Profile
https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/billy-kelleher/
Billy Kelleher
Member of the European Parliament
Profile
https://www.hfpolicynetwork.org/members/tomislav-sokol/
Tomislav Sokol
Member of the European Parliament
Profile

European Heart Failure Mission Working Group

For a full list of HFPN members, please see our Members page.

Dr Toni Bayes
Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol
Laura Cigolot
Health First Europe
Professor Salvatore Di Somma
Associazione Italiana Scompensati Cardiaci
Yvan Devaux
Luxembourg Institute of Health
Luis Filipe Pereira
Association for the Support of Patients with Heart Failure
Penilla Gunther
FOKUS Patient
Winfried Klausnitzer
Herzschwäche Deutschland
Professor Ekaterini Lambrinou
Cyprus University of Technology
Steven Macari
Association Vie Et Coeur
Ambrose McLoughlin
Heartbeat Trust
Professor Mark Petrie
University of Glasgow
Professor Giuseppe Rosano
Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology
Aistė Štaraitė
Lithuanian Heart Failure Association
Professor Izabella Uchmanowicz
Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions

What have we achieved so far?

 

  • Submission to the European Commission: official HFPN input to the Call for Evidence for the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan, outlining how the plan can support improved heart failure detection, diagnosis and care (through a cardiovascular health check at primary-care level, enhanced screening among at-risk populations and best-practice care models).
  • Submission to the Hungarian Ministry of Interior: outlines why it is essential to address heart failure as a key sustainability issue for European economies and health systems, calling for policy action in five priority areas and the inclusion of heart failure in a European Cardiovascular Health Plan.
  • European Heart Failure Mission launch event slides: including insights from leading clinical experts on heart failure, patient advocates and EU decision-makers.
  • European Heart Failure Mission Statement: calling on the European Commission to take six key actions to make heart failure a policy priority in Europe.
  • European Heart Failure Mission research priorities: outlining six areas where EU funding programmes (such as EU4Health and Horizon Europe) should direct investments in heart failure research. 
  • European Heart Failure Mission Statement Advocacy Toolkit: to support heart failure advocates when they are engaging with policymakers.
  • Call to action on specialist nursing in heart failure: calling on the EU to recognise the importance of specialist nurses in providing optimal care for people with heart failure, and to prioritise investment in heart failure nursing across Member States. Also available in French.
  • European Heart Failure Mission infographic: making the case for best-practice heart failure care being an investment in a sustainable and resilient Europe. Also available in French.
  • Call to action on mental health in heart failure: a response to the EU’s new approach to mental health, drawing attention to the impact of mental health in people with heart failure. Seven patient organisations across Europe endorsed our call to action. Also available in French.
  • Submission to the European Parliament own-initiative report on NCDs: the submission aims to ensure heart failure features in the own-initiative report, which allows the European Parliament to demand the European Commission puts forward a legislative proposal on NCDs.
  • Formal launch of the Heart Failure Policy Network membership: an initiative to showcase and support the individuals and organisations that make up the HFPN. So far, we have confirmed 60 heart failure members and 18 supporting organisations from Europe and beyond.
The Heart Failure Policy Network is an independent, multidisciplinary platform made possible with financial support from AstraZeneca, Bayer and Netherlands Heart Institute. The content produced by the Network is not biased toward any specific treatment or therapy. All outputs are guided and endorsed by the Network’s members. All members provide their time for free. The Network is hosted by The Health Policy Partnership.