Heart, against big killer diseases the idea of a national screening plan

A cardiovascular plan for Italy that first and foremost pushes the accelerator of prevention - from the promotion of lifestyles to regular screening based on age groups and patient conditions such as ECGs, blood pressure checks, and the measurement of values such as cholesterol and glycaemia - to try to fight the battle against the number one big killer disease in Italia and Europe. It also encourages the use of technology that facilitates control (devices, apps) and treatment paths (Pdta) that come from the territory to the hospital with standardised criteria. Because in our country, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death, responsible for one in three deaths and with an economic impact estimated at 20 billion euros a year in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

The urgency of a Plan - also in the wake of what is being done for other major diseases (think, for example, of the National Cancer Plan) - is not only a necessity in light of the numbers of pathologies such as heart attacks and strokes, but also stems from a request that comes from Europe and in particular from the EU Commission, which with the Safe Hearts Plan has just invited the Member States to develop a National Plan for the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases by 2027. A task that for Italia does not start from scratch because it can take advantage of the Cardiovascular Plan proposal put together in recent months by six scientific cardiology societies together with Confindustria dispositivi medici, which identifies prevention and widespread screening as the pillars for reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease. A proposal that now all together - in addition to the association of biomedical companies there are ANMCO-National Association of Hospital Cardiologists, AIAC-Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiostimulation, Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (GISE), ITACARE-P, Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC) and Italian Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (SICVE) - raise again to the Government and Health Minister Orazio Schillaci on the occasion of the national day of hypertension next 17 May.

The starting point is that cardiovascular disease is a silent threat, but one that can be largely prevented through precisely a prevention plan on the main risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and obesity - 41% of the population aged between 18 and 69 has at least three - that also integrates digital technologies, remote monitoring devices and personalised risk management apps. Community centres, general practitioners, and pharmacies - according to the proposal drawn up by the scientific societies and Confindustria dispositivi medici - should become widespread screening and counselling points, reducing the gap between hospital and territory. They should also standardise care paths at a national level through homogeneous Pdta (diagnostic therapeutic care paths) to improve the quality, appropriateness, and equity of care. The basic objective is to coordinate strategies, objectives, and interventions throughout the territory, in line with European indications, promoting continuous primary and secondary prevention programmes and activating widespread and uniform cardiovascular screening to detect hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes at an early stage, while also reducing the odious regional inequalities.

The result of a mass prevention plan could translate not only into a reduction in deaths from cardiovascular disease - there are more than 200,000 per year - but also into cost savings for the health service in the medium to long term by avoiding hospitalisations, re-hospitalisations and even years of life with disabilities for thousands of patients.