No more fragmented action: the case for national cardiovascular health plans
Around 20 million people die of cardiovascular disease (CVD) every year, equivalent to the whole population of countries like the Netherlands, Ecuador or Guatemala. Beyond this number are parents who can no longer provide for their families, workers and caregivers whose absence weakens communities and ultimately countries that lose the human capital essential for economic growth and sustainable development. Every heart attack, stroke and premature death carries a cost far beyond the individual. Together, CVD, including hypertension, resulted in approximately US$3.7 trillion in economic losses between 2011 and 2025. One of the greatest tragedies is that much of this burden is preventable. Proven, highly cost-effective interventions already exist, yet they remain underimplemented, leaving millions without access to life-saving prevention, diagnosis and treatment for CVD.
There is a striking mismatch between burden and investment: CVD is responsible for nearly one-third of all deaths globally, yet investment in cardiovascular health remains insufficient in national health budgets and receives only a tiny share of international development assistance. This chronic underinvestment perpetuates preventable deaths, fuels rising healthcare costs and causes lost economic productivity. The burden of CVD is too great to be addressed through fragmented initiatives. What is needed is a comprehensive national strategy that turns political will into concrete, evidence-based action, aligns investment with national priorities and guides a coordinated response across the entire continuum of care.
The UK took a step forward into the fight against CVD by recently adopting the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, demonstrating how a comprehensive national cardiovascular plan can unite government, health systems and communities behind a single ambition: to save lives and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. At the regional level, the EU Safe Hearts Plan builds on this momentum by providing a shared framework to support coordinated action and encourage the development of national cardiovascular health plans across Europe. Despite these encouraging examples, progress remains far too slow.
A World Heart Federation analysis conducted in 2024 found that fewer than 20 countries worldwide had a dedicated national cardiovascular health strategy or action plan, leaving the vast majority of countries without a coordinated roadmap to tackle the world’s leading cause of death. Countries do not need to reinvent the wheel. To accelerate progress, the World Heart Federation has developed a Global Framework for National Cardiovascular Health Plans that synthesises global evidence and proven cost-effective interventions into a practical, adaptable roadmap covering nine critical domains of cardiovascular health. The Framework will be launched at the end of July, marking a major step towards ensuring that every country has a clear, evidence-based roadmap to tackle cardiovascular disease.
Countries are beginning to demonstrate what is possible. The UK has now a national cardiovascular strategy. The EU has adopted the Safe Hearts Plan. What action is your country taking to address cardiovascular disease?