Over 60 million people in Europe live with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Those affected experience a lower quality of life and poor wellbeing. Left untreated, CVDs tend to progress along a ‘CVD continuum’; people start with risk factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and then develop increasingly severe problems such as heart attacks or strokes. At the end of the continuum lies full-blown heart failure. All too often, care is reactive, with patients only starting treatment when they have already travelled a long way down the CVD continuum.
As the name suggests, the aim of EXIT-CVD is to help patients exit the CVD continuum. They will do this by pinpointing strategic exit points along the continuum and identifying the tests and treatments that will stop CVDs in their tracks and even reverse them.
Helping patients to exit the disease continuum – before it’s too late
‘Our vision is a future where heart disease is no longer an irreversible pathway,’ said project coordinator Pim van der Harst of the University Medical Center Groningen. ‘By understanding both the biological and social drivers of cardiovascular disease, and deploying integrated innovations across diagnostics, monitoring, and care, we can empower patients and clinicians to exit the disease continuum before it’s too late.’
As a first step, the team will integrate clinical, imaging, genetic, and lifestyle data from around 700 000 patients from different cohorts. They will then use artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models to analyse the data and identify the factors that determine which patients’ CVD is at greatest risk of progressing. This will allow the project to identify the most vulnerable patients and the exit points where interventions will make the biggest difference.
Next, the team will validate novel diagnostics and monitoring tools, including advanced imaging technologies and wearable devices. They will also test targeted interventions at key exit points. The interventions, as well as the diagnostics and monitoring tools, will be tested in clinical studies. The studies will cover the entire CVD continuum, from early detection through intermediate stratification to late stage recovery.
In parallel, the project will work hand in hand with patients and health technology assessment (HTA) bodies to ensure innovations are not only effective, but feasible, acceptable, and scalable across European health systems. The project adopts an ‘equity-by-design’ approach to proactively address gender, socio-economic and other disparities in the care of people with CVDs.
‘A catalyst for next-generation cardiovascular solutions’
In the long term, EXIT-CVD’s outputs will help to transform the lives of people with CVDs by stopping or even reversing their progress along the CVD continuum.
Project industry lead Mark van Gastel of Philips, said: ‘We are pleased to contribute to the EXIT-CVD consortium, which we see as a catalyst for next-generation cardiovascular solutions, investing in a future where advanced diagnostics and intelligent interventions become seamlessly integrated into everyday care to support clinicians and empower patients.’