When we think about cardiovascular diseases, we still tend to associate them with adulthood. Heart attacks, strokes, chronic conditions: we imagine they concern a distant stage of life. Yet this view is becoming less and less true to reality.
The Safe Hearts Plan promoted by the European Commission invites us to change perspective. Heart health is not something built “later on,” but takes shape much earlier: in childhood, adolescence, and the first years of adult life.
Today, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the European Union, with about 1.7 million deaths every year. But perhaps the most meaningful figure is another: up to 80% of these conditions are preventable.
The heart is protected from childhood onward
One of the strongest points highlighted by the European plan is precisely this: cardiovascular risk does not arise suddenly, but develops slowly, often invisibly, already in the first years of life. The data is clear: one child in three is overweight or obese, and therefore exposed to a greater risk of developing cardiovascular problems in the future. This means that nutrition, movement, psychological well-being, and the environment in which one grows up play a fundamental role from the very start. Adolescence, in particular, is a decisive phase: it is here that habits are formed that tend to last over time, for better or worse.
Prevent earlier, not later
The Safe Hearts Plan introduces a simple but powerful approach: acting before the disease appears. Not waiting for the problem, but reducing the risk at its root. This translates into very concrete actions. Promoting a healthier diet, for example, does not only mean informing people, but also creating conditions that make healthy choices more accessible. The plan explicitly addresses the issue of ultra-processed foods and the need to steer the market toward better options. Likewise, physical activity is recognized as a central element: sport and movement are not just “good habits,” but real prevention tools.
There is also another important aspect: protecting younger people. The plan provides for stronger rules on advertising and specific tools to promote the health and mental well-being of children and adolescents.
It is not just a health issue
One of the most interesting messages of the Safe Hearts Plan is that cardiovascular health cannot be addressed by the healthcare system alone. The choices that affect the heart are shaped in everyday life: at school, in the family, in the community, through what we eat, how much we move, and even in the way we experience stress.That is why the plan proposes an integrated approach, in which health, education, and social policies work together. It is not only about treating, but about creating environments that make it easier to live healthily.
A challenge for the future (starting today)
The numbers clearly show the urgency: millions of people already affected, high economic costs, and a projected increase in cardiovascular diseases in the coming decades. But precisely because a large part of these conditions is preventable, there is also an enormous opportunity. Investing in children, adolescents, and young people means changing the course of things. It means reducing the future burden of disease, but also building healthier and more balanced societies.
In conclusion…
The Safe Hearts Plan reminds us of a simple truth, but one that is often underestimated: heart health does not begin in adulthood. It begins much earlier, in everyday gestures, in the habits formed from childhood, and in the choices that accompany growth. That is where the most important game is played.
Francesca Gastaldon, ProMIS
