On 13 May 2024 at the British Embassy in Lisbon, the HFPN co-hosted an event alongside Lisa Bandari, British Ambassador to Portugal, to galvanise political commitment to improving heart failure outcomes. Stressing heart failure as a key sustainability issue, the event brought together leading heart failure experts and ambassadors from several EU countries and the US.
The event underlined the growing prevalence of heart failure and how substantial improvements in outcomes can be achieved even with limited resources. The PORTHOS study recently revealed that 30% of people over 70 years in Portugal are living with heart failure, underlining the need for urgent action.
During their presentations, experts highlighted initiatives that could significantly improve patient outcomes, achieve cost savings and boost health system efficiency. Examples of these initiatives included the use of basic biomarker testing for early diagnosis of heart failure, and the greater utilisation of specialist heart failure nurses.
The President of UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health and CEO of Health AI, Ricardo Baptiste Leite (a former member of the Portuguese parliament), discussed the potential of artificial intelligence in supporting people living with heart failure.
An in-depth panel and audience discussion – with contributions from John Teerlink, Giuseppe Rosano, Piotr Ponikowski, Izabella Uchmanovicz, Ricardo Baptiste Leite, Rui Baptista and many more – also fostered direct engagement between heart failure advocates and ambassadors, providing a special opportunity for dialogue and collaboration.
The HFPN looks forward to advancing these important discussions further. Already, this meeting leveraged the presence of key stakeholders attending the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology’s Heart Failure Association, held 11–14 May in Lisbon.