On World Heart Day, the Heart Failure Policy Network (HFPN) has launched a new manifesto, Cardiovascular health checks: the opportunity in heart failure. It calls on European policymakers to make sure heart failure is fully integrated into the forthcoming European Union (EU) Council Recommendation on cardiovascular health checks. The manifesto is endorsed by more than 30 clinicians, nurses, researchers and advocates from across Europe, including from the cardiovascular, kidney and diabetes communities.
Heart failure affects millions of people across Europe. It is closely linked to cardiovascular-renal-metabolic (CVRM) conditions such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertension and obesity. It typically develops after years of exposure to these risk factors. As populations age and more people live with multiple long-term conditions, the burden of heart failure is expected to keep rising.
Yet around 80% of heart failure diagnoses are made in emergency settings, often after significant and preventable deterioration – meaning we are still missing too many windows for earlier detection.
In December 2025, the European Commission published its Safe Hearts Plan, setting out its vision for improving cardiovascular health. The plan calls for a cardiovascular health check model and states that ‘early detection of heart failure risk’ should ‘be included in the scope of the screening’.
The forthcoming Council Recommendation is the chance to put this into practice. Embedding heart failure within integrated CVRM health checks would support earlier diagnosis, improve outcomes for people with heart failure, reduce avoidable hospital admissions and help make health systems more sustainable.
The manifesto sets out two recommendations for policymakers and health systems:
Crucially, both levels of check must link to onward care. Clear care pathways are needed so that diagnosis can be confirmed and evidence-based care started promptly.
