How to tackle the biggest cause of death in the EU? Towards an EU Cardiovascular Health Plan

11.5.2023

Question for oral answer  O-000025/2023
to the Commission
Rule 136
Frances Fitzgerald (PPE), Mick Wallace (The Left), Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska (PPE), Colm Markey (PPE), Biljana Borzan (S&D), István Ujhelyi (S&D), Guy Verhofstadt (Renew), Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE), Victor Negrescu (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Maria Walsh (PPE), Aldo Patriciello (PPE), Kateřina Konečná (The Left), Marian-Jean Marinescu (PPE), Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Pascal Arimont (PPE), Theodoros Zagorakis (PPE), Barry Andrews (Renew), Chris MacManus (The Left), Vangelis Meimarakis (PPE), Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou (PPE), Elisabetta De Blasis (ID), Jarosław Kalinowski (PPE), Luke Ming Flanagan (The Left), Magdalena Adamowicz (PPE), Maria Noichl (S&D), Grace O'Sullivan (Verts/ALE), Maria Spyraki (PPE), Sara Cerdas (S&D), Clare Daly (The Left), Bartosz Arłukowicz (PPE), Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé (PPE), Billy Kelleher (Renew), Ondřej Knotek (Renew), Stelios Kympouropoulos (PPE), Radka Maxová (S&D), Seán Kelly (PPE), Anna Fotyga (ECR), Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE), Peter Liese (PPE), Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi (PPE), Nicolás González Casares (S&D), Susana Solís Pérez (Renew), Georgios Kyrtsos (Renew), Liudas Mažylis (PPE), Tilly Metz (Verts/ALE), Jan Olbrycht (PPE), Henna Virkkunen (PPE), Costas Mavrides (S&D), Hilde Vautmans (Renew), Petri Sarvamaa (PPE), Danuta Maria Hübner (PPE), Sara Skyttedal (PPE), Eleni Stavrou (PPE), Antonius Manders (PPE), Robert Hajšel (S&D), Geert Bourgeois (ECR), Peter Pollák (PPE), Radan Kanev (PPE), Ivan Štefanec (PPE), Michal Šimečka (Renew), Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR), Ciarán Cuffe (Verts/ALE), Deirdre Clune (PPE), Tomislav Sokol (PPE)

Cardiovascular disease represents the biggest killer of infants under the age of one, kills almost twice as many women as every single cancer combined and, overall, is the number one cause of death in every single EU Member State.

Within the EU alone, cardiovascular diseases cost EUR 210 billion each year in direct healthcare expenses, lost productivity and informal caregiver support.

Existing initiatives such as the Beating Cancer Plan also do not adequately take cardiovascular disease into account. It is the biggest comorbidity and consequence of cancer treatment. Cancer treatment can cause cardiovascular disease, which reduces treatment options and accounts for up to 57 % of comorbidities in cancer cases. Children with cancer have an eight times greater chance of developing cardiovascular disease as adults.

As a result:

What future steps does the Commission intend to take to address cardiovascular health and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in the EU?

How can the Commission support measures to reduce inequalities in cardiovascular health across the EU?

Will the next Gender Equality Strategy recognise the need for action on cardiovascular disease as a means of improving the well-being of all women in the EU today?

Submitted: 11.5.2023

Lapses: 12.8.2023