Know Your Lp(a) welcomes EU Safe Hearts Plan: important step towards early detection and prevention

Published: December 19, 2025

Source: Know Your Lp(a)

Know Your Lp(a) welcomes the publication of the first European Cardiovascular Health Plan, theSafe Hearts Plan, which was presented on December 16, 2025 by theEuropean CommissionWith this plan, the European Union is taking an important step towards structural prevention of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in Europe.

Cardiovascular diseases currently affect an estimated 62 million people in the European Union and cause approximately 1.7 million deaths annually. The cost to society is approximately €282 billion per year. Without additional measures, this disease burden is expected to increase by almost 90 percent by 2050, despite the fact that up to 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases are preventable.

From late intervention to prevention across the life course

The Safe Hearts Plan emphasizes that effective cardiovascular care begins with prevention. The European Commission explicitly opts for a life-course approach, where risks are detected and addressed as early as possible, rather than intervening only when disease manifests.

Know Your Lp(a) considers this change of course essential. In current practice, a complete assessment of cardiovascular risk often only occurs from middle age onward. This results in the loss of valuable preventive years, leading to unnecessary heart attacks, strokes, and valvular heart disease.

Recognition of hereditary and lifelong cardiovascular risk

A key component of the Safe Hearts Plan is the explicit recognition that cardiovascular risk is not solely determined by lifestyle, but can also be genetic and lifelong. The plan identifies familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and elevated lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), as important and structurally underdiagnosed risk factors.

It is estimated that one in five Europeans has an elevated Lp(a) level. This genetically determined risk factor, independently of other risk factors, increases the risk of premature cardiovascular disease and aortic valve calcification. Know Your Lp(a) considers the explicit inclusion of Lp(a) in the European policy framework a major breakthrough, in line with the scientific consensus and international guidelines from, among others, theEuropean Atherosclerosis Society.

Health checks and Lp(a) testing as the foundation of personalized prevention

The proposed European protocol for cardiovascular health checks is a key pillar of the Safe Hearts Plan. Know Your Lp(a) emphasizes that a one-time Lp(a) measurement, as part of a complete lipid profile, is essential in this regard.

Early identification of elevated Lp(a) allows for timely and targeted intervention, prevents decades of cumulative vascular damage, and supports family-based screening through cascade and reverse-cascade screening. Scientific and health economic studies demonstrate that this approach is both effective and cost-efficient.

Why detection must begin in childhood

According to Know Your Lp(a), a life-course approach means that prevention and screening should not begin in adulthood, but already in childhood. Inherited lipid disorders can only be detected early when screening is integrated into existing youth health programs.

Early detection protects not only the child itself, but also parents, siblings, and future generations. This structurally and family-wide integration of cardiovascular prevention into the healthcare system.

From policy vision to concrete implementation

The Safe Hearts Plan offers a unique opportunity to fundamentally improve cardiovascular prevention in Europe. The plan’s success will depend on effective implementation by Member States, supported by data, digital tools, and clinical expertise.

Know Your Lp(a) calls on policy makers, healthcare professionals and health organisations to seize this opportunity and make early detection of Lp(a) a structural part of cardiovascular care.

By measuring earlier, acting earlier and personalising prevention, Europe can prevent thousands of avoidable cardiovascular diseases and build a healthier and more resilient future.

 

Sources

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The State of Cardiovascular Health in the European Union. OECD Publishing, 2025.

World Heart Federation. World Heart Report 2023: Confronting the World’s Number One Killer.

European Commission. Communication on an EU Cardiovascular Health Plan: The Safe Hearts Plan, 2025.

Kronenberg F. et al. The Brussels International Declaration on Lipoprotein(a) Testing and Management. Atherosclerosis, 2025.

Mach F. et al. 2025 Focused Update of the ESC/EAS Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidaemias. European Heart Journal / Atherosclerosis, 2025.

Morton J.I. et al. Lp(a) testing for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Atherosclerosis, 2025.