Project Overview

Cities@Heart is a five‑year project mainly funded by the Horizon Europe programme. It focuses on obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and diabetes as key drivers of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and aims to address them through citizen engagement and empowerment and  involves the municipalities of Izmir (TR), Belfast (NI), Łódź (PL), Cork (IE), Udine (IT), Birmingham (EN), and Utrecht (NL).

These cities represent diverse communities and have demonstrated strong public health activity and clear potential for scale‑up. They will deploy multi‑disciplinary health strategies to strengthen CVD awareness, effective prevention, early detection, and optimal disease management.

By working together, the participating municipalities will implement coordinated actions to improve cardiovascular health and urban wellbeing. Citizens and patients will benefit from increased awareness and preventive measures, earlier detection and diagnosis, better‑organised and more accessible CVD management pathways, and ultimately a reduction in adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

EHN Involvement

Work Package 3: Awareness Strategy.

EHN will lead the development and implementation of strategies to raise citizen awareness about cardiovascular disease risks, with a particular focus on promoting city‑level support services and reaching underserved population groups.

Working closely with local Patient and Public Involvement groups, community leaders, and project partners, EHN will design and deliver tailored awareness pilots addressing risks linked to obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and diabetes for both primary and secondary CVD prevention. EHN will also support the evaluation of changes in knowledge and behaviour within underserved communities.