The purpose of this informal debate is to offer a real and dynamic discussion among key stakeholders and policymakers on how to improve care to tackle the burden of heart failure, from diagnosis and prevention to reduction of risk of death throughout integrated care models and solutions.

Cardiovascular diseases are one of Europe’s largest health problems. At least 15 million people live with heart failure in Europe and one in five people can expect to live with heart failure at some point in their life. Heart failure accounts for 5% of all acute hospital admissions in Europe and is the leading cause of hospitalisation in people over the age of 65. With an ageing population, the burden of heart failure will rise and hospital admissions due to heart failure are projected to rise by 50% over the next 25 years. Innovative and integrated models to monitor cardiovascular health and foster screening are a way to transform cardiovascular care as well as to prevent and treat heart failure. Health care systems often struggle with a chronic disease model, and heart failure is no exception, where care can be fragmented. An integrated management and multidisciplinary care – from acute care to laboratory medicine - can ensure timely diagnosis, prevention in those at risk and follow-up by specialists.

Keynote contributors:

• Ed Harding, Heart Failure Policy Network

• Alex Lefevre, Roche

• Damien Gruson, City-Labs Project

Who we are?
City-Labs is an ambitious project financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which aims to create 2 new primary care structures in Brussels. These City-Labs will be integrating the innovation of laboratory medicine and mobile health. The scope of the project is to facilitate access to laboratory tests as part of an integrated and collaborative approach to ambulatory care of a chronically ill individual, as well as to contribute to the dynamic monitoring of patients with chronic diseases.