ESCAPE-NET (the project ended in December 2022)
In this project, leading European scientific teams which have created large relevant population cohorts, mostly dedicated to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) research, join forces to fully exploit available data towards improving SCA management. This will be done by:
- building a unique and growing database of >100.000 (DNA) samples including >20.000 SCA patient samples;
- identifying risk factors and first-response treatment strategies that may explain the differences in SCA occurrence and survival between European countries; and
- collaborating with professional networks to translate the outcomes into European clinical practice for the prevention of SCA, and European infrastructures to improve survival after SCA.
PROFID-EHRA trial
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major public health problem accounting for ~20% of all deaths in Europe with an estimated yearly incidence of ~350-700,000, often in patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI). In SCD, the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. If untreated, the patient dies within minutes, but SCD can be successfully prevented by an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).
PROFID will develop a clinical decision support tool (risk score) to predict the individual SCD risk and identify those post-MI patients that will optimally benefit from an ICD. Two parallel randomised clinical trials will validate the implementation of the risk score to determine ICD implantation, while health economic analyses will assess its economic impact on health care systems. A software tool for clinical use of the risk score will be implemented, and a pilot runs in three European regions with the participation of insurance companies and authorities. The unique composition of the consortium with key opinion leaders, patient organisations, large hospital chains, payers, policymakers and state authorities across Europe, will ensure implementation into routine clinical practice.
This is a Horizon 2020 funded project (grant agreement no. 847999).
AFFECT EU
The AFFECT-EU project involves 14 EU countries. Its major goal is to develop an accurate, risk-based and ready for implementation AF screening algorithm using digital devices, for early detection and reduction of AF-related health inequities, morbidity and mortality in Europe.
To do so, the scientific team will:
- develop a risk-based AF screening algorithm, by combining the available information from the largest outcome trials and multiple screening studies across Europe) including health modifiers and biomarkers;
- refine the stratification of high-risk populations in a personalised approach through an exploration of distinct digital screening methods and multiple health determinants in deeply-phenotyped population cohorts;
- validate the AFFECT-EU risked-based screening recommendations in a meta-analysis of European and worldwide studies;
- demonstrate cost benefits and acceptability of AF screening across different European healthcare systems;
- identify the AF screening potential to be taken up by differing healthcare systems; and
- foster the dissemination of results and adoption of the risked-based AF screening algorithm in the ESC.
This is a Horizon 2020 funded project (grant agreement no. 847770).
EHRA PATHS
Optimisation of atrial fibrillation (AF) disease management is highly needed. The project aims at transforming and improving the clinical practice in the field of AF to holistic, inclusive and personalised treatment strategies. The project will create well-founded, innovative systematic care pathways to tackle multimorbidity in elderly AF patients. We hypothesise that such a well-structured, interdisciplinary, and patient-tailored care programme is feasible throughout all healthcare systems in Europe, and effective to optimise outcomes.
There are five objectives:
- further characterise multimorbidity, polypharmacy and sex differences in AF patients by means of clinical data registries;
- perform a European needs assessment study to map current clinical practice and identify unmet needs;
- devise and implement new software-supported interdisciplinary, patient-centred care pathways;
- a two-part evaluation with an initial base mapping followed by a European cluster randomised controlled trial; and
- disseminate the insights, care pathways and implementation strategy from this project to stakeholders.
This is a Horizon 2020 funded project (grant agreement no. 945260).
Our mission: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.