On the World Heart Day, celebrated on 29 of September, has been the day in which the European Commission took stock and reflect on some of the research projects into cardiovascular health research it funds. Research into cardiovascular diseases under the 'Health' Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) has seen around €215 million fund 33 different projects. These projects mainly focus on generating knowledge for improving diagnosis, prevention, treatment and monitoring of diseases of the heart and circulatory system.

The European Commission took stock on EU-funded cardiovascular research for World Heart Day, celebrated on 29 of September. The EU-funded research projects address different conditions associated with heart disease such as heart failure, atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathies, congenital heart disease, regenerative therapies, stent thrombosis, as well as specific biomarker research for heart and vessels diseases.

33 different projects have been fund by research into cardiovascular diseases under the 'Health' Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) with around €215 million fund. These projects are very important becauset heart disease remains the world's leading cause of death, claiming over 1.5 million deaths every year in the EU. For instance, one major EU-funded project is investigating life-threatening forms of cardiac arrhythmia, a group of conditions characterised by irregular electrical activity in the heart. This condition is associated with a high risk of sudden cardiac death. The EUTrigTreat ('Identification and therapeutic targeting of common arrhythmia trigger mechanisms') project, which began in 2009 and runs until 2014, received €12 million of EU funding and is made up of a 16-partner consortium from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The overall aim is to carry out research that aims to better understand arrhythmia-initiating mechanisms and associated risk biomarkers.

Among ageing population this trend is only set to get worse with diseases of the heart and circulatory system, or cardiovascular diseases, projected to remain a huge strain on human health for the foreseeable future. Not to mention the strain these conditions put on heath systems - it is estimated that cardiovascular disease in the EU costs €169 billion annually.