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EuroHeartPath: Leading Innovation in Cardiovascular Pathways for Improved Patient Outcomes

LSE Principal Investigator: Elias Mossialos
LSE team: Huseyin Naci, Alex Carter
Start Date: 01 January 2025
End Date: 31 December 2029
Funder: Horizon Europe – Innovative Health Initiative (IHI JU)
Partners: 38 organisations including UMC Utrecht (Coordinator), Amsterdam UMC, LSE, TU Eindhoven, Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Charité, Insel Gruppe AG, Philips, Medtronic, AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, IQVIA, Abbott, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Amarin, ESC, WONCA, EUPHA, European Pathway Association, SMEs
Region(s): Europe
Countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Romania, Slovenia, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden, Estonia
Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, care pathways, AI, digital health, robotics, point-of-care testing, personalised medicine

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death and disability across Europe, placing immense pressure on health systems and costing billions annually. Despite advances in technology and treatment, care pathways for conditions such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and coronary artery disease remain fragmented and inconsistent. EuroHeartPath brings together 38 partners from academia, healthcare, industry, and patient organisations to transform cardiovascular care pathways through innovation, integration, and patient-centred approaches.

Objectives

  • Map and optimise cardiovascular care pathways across Europe to identify best practices and gaps.
  • Harness artificial intelligence (AI), digital health, robotics, and point-of-care diagnostics to improve early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
  • Develop scalable, personalised solutions that enhance patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities.
  • Generate evidence for cost-effectiveness and sustainability to support policy adoption.
  • Engage stakeholders to ensure ethical, equitable, and gender-sensitive implementation.

To achieve these aims, EuroHeartPath will conduct pathfinder studies across several countries, focusing on four innovation areas: AI-driven diagnostics (including automated ECG and Holter analysis), digital health integration for prevention and monitoring, point-of-care testing in primary care and emergency settings, and robotic echocardiography for advanced imaging. These studies will be complemented by large-scale data analysis, stakeholder co-design, and health economics modelling to ensure solutions are clinically effective, economically viable, and ready for implementation.

LSE Health leads the health economics, ethics, and policy work package. We will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of new technologies and care pathways, model resource use across different health systems, and develop policy roadmaps for adoption. Outputs will include economic evaluations embedded in clinical trials, comparative analyses of care pathway costs, and guidance for regulators and payers.

By integrating cutting-edge technologies with robust economic and policy frameworks, EuroHeartPath aims to reduce the burden of CVD, improve patient outcomes, and enhance efficiency across European health systems. The project will deliver practical tools, evidence-based guidelines, and policy strategies that enable equitable access to high-quality cardiovascular care, fostering long-term impact on health and wellbeing.