World Heart Day: Know Your Numbers, Care for Your Heart
Press Release
Halandri, 28 September 2026.- On the occasion of World Heart Day (Tuesday, 29 September), the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SFEE) through its members’ Cardiovascular Diseases Platform call on the public to make prevention part of everyday life. Caring for our hearts can begin with a simple but meaningful step: knowing our key health indicators and discussing what they mean for us with a healthcare professional.
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). For World Heart Day 2026, the World Heart Federation is promoting the message “Don’t Miss a Beat,” underscoring the importance of recognizing possible signs of cardiovascular disease and taking timely care of cardiovascular health.
In the same spirit, the European campaign EU Screening Week – Know Your Numbers highlights the importance of preventive screening and knowing key health indicators. Blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar are among the measures that, when discussed with a healthcare professional, can help assess cardiometabolic risk. Numbers have real value when they lead, where needed, to timely advice, diagnosis and appropriate care.
The European campaign forms part of a broader effort to improve cardiovascular health across Europe, with an emphasis on prevention, early detection and screening, as well as treatment and continuity of care. The EU’s Safe Hearts Plan aims to establish a common European framework so that awareness and prevention lead to more systematic and effective action.
For Greece, this European direction highlights the need for a coherent, long-term national plan for cardiovascular health. SFEE supports the development of such a plan in cooperation with the government, the scientific community, healthcare professionals and patient associations. Key priorities include systematically informing the public, ensuring equitable access to appropriate preventive screening, enabling early diagnosis and maintaining continuity of care. Prevention has a meaningful impact when it becomes a consistent part of health policy and reaches everyone who needs it.
SFEE President Olympios Papadimitriou said: “World Heart Day is an opportunity to turn awareness into sustained action. At SFEE, we want to contribute actively to the development of a national plan for cardiovascular health that connects prevention and early diagnosis with appropriate care for every person. Through cooperation and commitment, the message ‘know your numbers’ can become part of how we care for our health every day.”
Professor Konstantinos Toutouzas, President of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology, said: “High blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and blood sugar may cause no symptoms. Appropriate screening, based on age and personal medical history, and a discussion with a doctor help us identify risks early and make decisions about our heart health.”
