Cardiovascular health takes centre stage in Brussels.

The first-everCardiovascular Health Week was an awareness-raising activity on the theme ‘Mind Your Heart – for a Heart Healthy Europe’. The initiative was organized by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Heart Group, under the auspices of the European Parliament and supported by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Heart Network (EHN). The MEP Heart Group held meetings with European experts discussing pressing issues of cardiovascular health. Other activities included cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, free cardio fitness classes in the European Parliament Sports Centre, and heart healthy meals in the main European Parliament restaurant. In addition, MEPs had cardiovascular screening of blood pressure and cholesterol measurements that will be used to predict their 10-year risk of mortality from heart attack and stroke. They then received advice on how to adopt a more heart healthy lifestyle. Staffan Josephson, President of theEHN, said: ‘We hope this will show MEPs that there is a lot they can do to help protect EU citizens if CVD-friendly policies are in place, such as banning smoking in public places and making healthy food affordable’. In anticipation of the European Parliament elections in May 2014, MEPs were encouraged to support with a ‘Pledge for Cardiovascular Health’, committing them to consider the impact of cardiovascular health when voting on European Union (EU) legislation and support national strategies to promote cardiovascular health.