On 7 March 2006, the European Heart Network and the European Society of Cardiology organised a joint conference on Women’s Health at Heart.
Conference Objective:
The June 2004 Health Council conclusions and the June 2005 Luxembourg Declaration called upon Member States and the European Commission to promote cardiovascular health.
This conference on Women’s Health at Heart was intended as a step in making good these commitments, and examined the EU’s role in ensuring that all EU citizens benefit from optimal cardiovascular health. During the conference the benefits of different approaches to prevention strategies were assessed. To stress the importance of the topic to women’s health addressed under the Austrian Presidency, the conference had a special focus on Women and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).
By bringing together a diverse group of experts and stakeholders to discuss the current state of knowledge on heart disease, we were able to focus on the best possible primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in Europe – and act on our discussions.
Policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers, patient advocates, and public health specialists assessed the benefits of different approaches to prevention strategies, e.g. population based risk factor modification, and high risk identification and treatment.
After it’s over
At the conference the European Heart Network and European Society Cardiology circulated a declaration which makes policy recommendations to improve primary and secondary prevention of heart disease. A European integrated strategy for tackling CVD beyond changing lifestyle would enable the exchange of best practices and benchmarking intervention methods between member states.
The conference findings and recommendations are published and distributed among key policy makers and decision makers throughout Europe. This document could become a key policy consensus statement used to maintain the momentum of the Cork initiatives for public health practitioners, healthcare providers, and health policy makers.