
The European Program for Prevention (EPP) – Implementing Proven Preventing Measures Now!
By: Maciej Banach, Zlatko Fras, Dan Gaita, Ivan Pecin, Gani Bajraktari, Bojko Bjelakovic, Ibadete Bytyci, Richard Ceska, Dragan Djuric, Robert J. Gil, Jacek Jozwiak, Raimondas Kubilius, Gustavs Latkovskis, Olena Mitchenko, Gyorgy Paragh, Daniel Pella, Zaneta Petrulioniene, Arman Postadzhiyan, Anca Pantea Stoian, Piotr Szymański, Margus Viigimaa, Dragos Vinereanu, Branislav Vohnout, Michal Vrablik, Zeljko Reiner and for the International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP)
References
- Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risks 2023 Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2023. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025;S0735-1097(25)07428-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2025.08.015
- Koczkodaj P, Kuryłowicz A, Banach M, Bogdański P, Gałązka-Sobotka M, Kłoda K, et al. Uniting for the prevention and treatment of obesity – a call for coordinated, multisectoral action on a complex public health challenge. Arch Med Sci. 2025. DOI: 10.5114/aoms/211281
- GBD 2021 Adult BMI Collaborators. Global, regional, and national prevalence of adult overweight and obesity, 1990–2021, with forecasts to 2050: A forecasting study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2025;405(10481):813–838. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00355-1
- GBD 2021 Diabetes Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2023;402(10397):203–234. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01301-6
- Banach M. No time to wait: Daily step counts should be incorporated into physical activity guidelines. Arch Med Sci. 2025. DOI: 10.5114/aoms/210673
- Banach M, Lewek J, Surma S, Penson PE, Sahebkar A, Martin SS, et al. The association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: A meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2023;30(18):1975–1985. DOI: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwad229
- Banach M, Reiner Ž, Surma S, Bajraktari G, Bielecka-Dabrowa A, Bunc M, et al. International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP). 2024 Recommendations on the optimal use of lipid-lowering therapy in established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and following acute coronary syndromes: A position paper of the International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP). Drugs. 2024;84(12):1541–1577. DOI: 10.1007/s40265-024-02105-5
- Gore R, Topp SM, Banach M, van Schayck OCP. What can we learn from developments in primary health care in south Asia? Lancet Glob Health. 2024;12(10):e1575–e1576. DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00279-1
- Mensah GA, Fuster V, Murray CJL, Roth GA. Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risks Collaborators. Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risks, 1990–2022. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023;82(25):2350–2473. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2023.11.007
- GBD 2023 Poland Collaborators. The burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors by voivodship in Poland, 1990–2023: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101431
- Banach M, Surma S, Guzik TJ, Penson PE, Blaha MJ, Pinto FJ, et al. Upfront lipid-lowering combination therapy in high cardiovascular risk patients: A route to effective atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevention. Cardiovasc Res. 2025;121(6):851–859. DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvaf045
- Booth JN
3rd. , Colantonio LD, Howard G, Safford MM, Banach M, Reynolds K, et al. Healthy lifestyle factors and incident heart disease and mortality in candidates for primary prevention with statin therapy. Int J Cardiol. 2016;207:196–202. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.01.001 - Banach M. The International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP)-the role of ‘optimal’ collaboration in the effective diagnosis and treatment of lipid disorders. Eur Heart J. 2021;42(37):3817–3820. DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab204
- Bedlington N, Abifadel M, Beger B, Bourbon M, Bueno H, Ceska R, et al. The time is now: Achieving FH paediatric screening across Europe – The Prague Declaration. GMS Health Innov Technol. 2022;16:Doc04. DOI: 10.3205/hta000136
- Viigimaa M, Jürisson M, Pisarev H, Kalda R, Alavere H, Irs A, et al. Effectiveness and feasibility of cardiovascular disease personalized prevention on high polygenic risk score subjects: A randomized controlled pilot study. Eur Heart J Open. 2022;2(6):oeac079. DOI: 10.1093/ehjopen/oeac079
- Fitzsimons D, Cosentino F, Linde C, Price S, Lüscher TF, Weidinger F. Delivering a European Union cardiovascular health plan: From building momentum to political action. Eur Heart J. 2025;
ehaf164 . DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf164 - Laranjo L, Lanas F, Sun MC, Chen DA, Hynes L, Imran TF, et al. World Heart Federation Roadmap for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: 2023 Update. Glob Heart. 2024;19(1):8. DOI: 10.5334/gh.1278
- Quiambao A, Malekpour MR, Golestani A, Heidari-Foroozan M, Ghamari SH, Abbasi-Kangevari M, et al. World Health Organization’s guidance for tracking non-communicable diseases towards sustainable development goals 3.4: An initiative for facility-based monitoring. EClinicalMedicine. 2025;85:103304. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103304
- Banach M, Mastalerz-Migas A, Wita K, Mysliwiec M. Poland takes a lead in effective lipid disorders management healthcare programmes in Europe. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2025 (in press).
- Groselj U, Kovac J, Sustar U, Mlinaric M, Fras Z, Podkrajsek KT, et al. Universal screening for familial hypercholesterolemia in children: The Slovenian model and literature review. Atherosclerosis. 2018;277:383–391. DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2018.06.858
- Juričić G, Perović A, Matica J, Perković-Radojković K, Horvat V, Mandić D, et al. Analysis of total cholesterol results measured in the initial period of the Croatian screening program for familial hypercholesterolemia: A pilot study. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2025. DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2025-0536
- Vracko P, Maucec Zakotnik J, Govc Erzen J. Integrating evidence into practice: Examples from the Slovenia National Program on CVDs Prevention. Eur. J. Public Health. 2015;25(Issue suppl_3):ckv167.043. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckv167.043
- Nowowiejska-Wiewióra A, Wita K, Mędrala Z, Tomkiewicz-Pająk L, Bujak K, et al. Dyslipidemia treatment and attainment of LDL-cholesterol treatment goals in patients participating in the Managed Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction Survivors program. Kardiol Pol. 2023;81(4):359–365. DOI: 10.33963/KP.a2023.0045
- Jankowski P, Topór-Mądry R, Gąsior M, Cegłowska U, Eysymontt Z, Gierlotka M, et al. Innovative managed care may be related to improved prognosis for acute myocardial infarction survivors. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2021;14(8):
e007800 . DOI: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.120.007800 - Chioncel O, Čelutkienė J, Bělohlávek J, Kamzola G, Lainscak M, Merkely B, et al. Heart failure care in the Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic region: Status, barriers, and routes to improvement. ESC Heart Fail. 2024;11(4):1861–1874. DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.14687
- Pop C, Fronea OFG, Pop L, Iosip A, Manea V, Dorobantu L, et al. High-normal blood pressure and related cardiovascular risk factors prevalence in the Romanian adult population: Insights from the SEPHAR III study. J Hum Hypertens. 2021;35(10):884–895. DOI: 10.1038/s41371-020-00417-z
- Postadzhiyan A, Yotov Y, Tisheva S, Nikolov F, Gruev I, Yaneva-Sirakova T. What potential cardiovascular risk reduction could be achieved with blood pressure and lipid lowering treatment? A simulation based on bp-proaction bg observational study. J. Hypertens. 2025;43(Suppl 1):p
e233 . DOI: 10.1097/01.hjh.0001117596.88971.43 - Postadzhiyan A, Yotov Y, Tisheva S, Nikolov F, Boychev D. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal attainment in extreme cardiovascular risk patients – Frequency and relation with prognosis. Atherosclerosis. 2025;407(Suppl.):120163. DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2025.120163
- Laucevičius A, Rinkūnienė E, Petrulionienė Ž, Ryliškytė L, Jucevičienė A, Puronaitė R, et al. Trends in cardiovascular risk factor prevalence among Lithuanian middle-aged adults between 2009 and 2018. Atherosclerosis. 2020;299:9–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2020.02.025
- Nagy GG, Mark L, Gerencser A, Reiber I, Kiss N, Rokszin G, Fabian I, et al. A nation-wide evaluation of suboptimal lipid-lowering treatment patterns among patients undergoing intervention for acute coronary syndrome in Hungary. J Clin Med. 2024;13(21):6562. DOI: 10.3390/jcm13216562
- Banach M, Toth PP, Bielecka-Dąbrowa A, Lewek J. Primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention: Recent advances. Kardiol Pol. 2024;82(12):1200–1210. DOI: 10.33963/v.phj.103997
- Banach M, Fogacci F, Atanasov AG, Stoian AP, Jóźwiak J, Bytyçi I, et al. International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP). A 360° perspective on cardiovascular prevention: The International Lipid Expert Panel SiMple tIps for the heaLthy hEart (ILEP-SMILE). Arch Med Sci. 2025 29;21(3):711–718. DOI: 10.5114/aoms/205732
- Banach M, Penson PE. Adherence to statin therapy: It seems we know everything, yet we do nothing. Eur Heart J Open. 2022;2(6):oeac071. DOI: 10.1093/ehjopen/oeac071
- Kuwabara M. The interplay between cancer and cardiovascular disease. Hypertens Res. 2025;48(3):1192–1194. DOI: 10.1038/s41440-024-02015-9
- Sobierajski T, Surma S, Banach M. Stroke and cancer – investigating the prevalence of fear among the polish population. Cross-sectional study. Eur Heart J. 2025;27(Issue Supplement_6). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartjsupp/suaf083.025
- Santos-Beneit G, Fernández-Jiménez R, de Cos-Gandoy A, Rodríguez C, Carral V, Bodega P, et al. Lessons learned from 10 years of preschool intervention for health promotion: JACC state-of-the-art review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79:283–298. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2021.10.046
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/gh.1491 | Journal eISSN: 2211-8179
Language: English
Submitted on: Oct 24, 2025
Accepted on: Oct 28, 2025
Published on: Nov 14, 2025
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year
Keywords:
© 2025 Maciej Banach, Zlatko Fras, Dan Gaita, Ivan Pecin, Gani Bajraktari, Bojko Bjelakovic, Ibadete Bytyci, Richard Ceska, Dragan Djuric, Robert J. Gil, Jacek Jozwiak, Raimondas Kubilius, Gustavs Latkovskis, Olena Mitchenko, Gyorgy Paragh, Daniel Pella, Zaneta Petrulioniene, Arman Postadzhiyan, Anca Pantea Stoian, Piotr Szymański, Margus Viigimaa, Dragos Vinereanu, Branislav Vohnout, Michal Vrablik, Zeljko Reiner, for the International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP), published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.