How Targeted Health Checks Can Transform Cardiovascular Care in Europe

 

Mind the Gap: How Targeted Health Checks Can Transform Cardiovascular Care in Europe

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death and disability across the European Union (EU). Behind the numbers lie staggering human and financial costs: CVDs account for one in three deaths in the EU—roughly 1.7 million lives lost in 2022 alone—and generate over €282 billion in annual health care, social care, informal care, and lost productivity.

To tackle this growing public health crisis, the European Commission launched the Safe Hearts Plan, proposing new framework recommendations for earlier detection, equitable access, and reduced healthcare costs. A recent policy brief by the OECD highlights how strengthening routine health checks and integrating them into structured care pathways can fundamentally shift cardiovascular care from reactive treatment to proactive prevention.

The Current State of Cardiovascular Screening in Europe

Despite the clear benefits of early detection, systematic cardiovascular screening programmes exist in fewer than half of EU Member States. Significant proportions of the adult population continue to miss basic, low-cost diagnostic checks:

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  Blood Pressure: 34% of adults aged 25–64 reported not having their blood pressure checked in the past year.
  
  
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  Blood Glucose: 16% of adults aged 25–64 have not had a blood sugar screening in the past five years.
  
  
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  Blood Cholesterol: 16% of adults aged 25–64 have not undergone cholesterol screening in the past five years.
  
  

Gender disparities are also evident across the continent. Men between 25 and 64 years old have lower screening rates than women for blood pressure (62% vs. 69%), cholesterol (82% vs. 86%), and blood glucose (81% vs. 87%). However, women face distinct risks related to pregnancy and menopause, alongside higher rates of misdiagnosis and undertreatment for heart conditions.

Universal vs. Targeted Health Checks: Finding What Works

While universal, population-wide health checks raise general awareness, scientific evidence indicates that targeted health checks focusing on high-risk individuals yield far more favorable cost-effectiveness ratios.

EU Member States are trying various models to balance reach and resource allocation:

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  Age-Based or Universal Access: Countries like Austria, Germany, and Slovenia offer broad routine check-ups to all adults , whereas France targets specific life stages (e.g., ages 18–25, 45–50, 60–65, 70–75) through its Mon Bilan Prévention program.
  
  
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  Equity & Risk-Focused Outreach: Luxembourg’s Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes operates mobile screening units for vulnerable women. Ireland’s High-Risk Prevention Programme (HRPP) targets socio-economically disadvantaged communities to provide structured lifestyle support.
  
  
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  Digital & At-Home Screening: The Netherlands' Check@Home pilot enables adults aged 50–75 to conduct initial testing for CVD, kidney disease, and diabetes from home, following up with diagnostic centers when needed.
  
  

The Care Continuity Gap: Why Screening Alone Is Not Enough

A health check is only as good as the care pathway that follows it. Current healthcare systems frequently operate in silos, leading to fragmented care and missed opportunities after a risk factor is identified:

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  Multimorbidity is Common: Over 30% of people with CVD also suffer from chronic kidney disease, and 31% report depressive symptoms.
  
  
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  Medication Underuse: Prescribing rates for key protective medications drop sharply over time. For instance, prescribing drops significantly within 18 months following a stroke event.
  
  
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  Frequent Hospitalization: People living with CVD are twice as likely to visit emergency departments (40% vs. 26%) and be hospitalized (28% vs. 14%) compared to those without CVD.
  
  
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  Uneven Rehabilitation Access: Although 81% of European countries offer cardiac rehabilitation programs, few have fully integrated them into national healthcare strategies.
  
  

Five Pillars for Stronger Cardiovascular Prevention

To maximize the impact of health checks, the OECD outlines five core policy priorities for decision-makers:

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   Improve Access & Equity: Reduce geographic, gender, and socio-economic barriers through flexible community and primary care delivery models.
   
   
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   Promote Targeted Awareness: Utilize validated risk-stratification tools (such as SCORE2 or SMART Risk Score) to identify high-risk individuals and improve health literacy.
   
   
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   Leverage Interoperable Health Data: Capitalize on frameworks like the European Health Data Space (EHDS) to securely connect electronic health records across primary, secondary, and community care settings.
   
   
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   Integrate Primary & Specialized Care: Ensure health checks serve as an entry point into continuous, multi-disciplinary care pathways involving doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.
   
   
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   Optimize Cost-Effectiveness: Align financial incentives for healthcare providers not just with screening volume, but with follow-up adherence, treatment continuity, and patient outcomes.
   
   

Looking Ahead

Moving from reactive disease treatment to early, data-informed prevention offers a crucial path toward sustainable health systems in Europe. By pairing targeted health checks with integrated care pathways and robust health data systems, EU nations can significantly reduce avoidable hospitalizations, close gender and socio-economic gaps, and save lives.