The European Commission is preparing the first EU Screening Week, planned for 29 September–4 October 2026. Linked to World Heart Day, the EU Safe Hearts Plan and the Know Your Numbers campaign, the initiative aims to create a visible Europe-wide moment for prevention, screening and early detection.
The central message is simple: people should know important health numbers, including blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and be empowered to take preventive action before disease develops. The Commission hopes to mobilise activities in as many EU Member States as possible and establish EU Screening Week as an annual European initiative.
This is an important and timely opportunity for the inherited lipid disorders community. EU Screening Week begins only five days after FH Awareness Day on 24 September, creating a natural bridge between awareness of inherited cardiovascular risk and wider European action on prevention.
Why this matters for our community
The EU Safe Hearts Plan is built around three pillars: prevention, early detection and screening, treatment and care, including rehabilitation.
Importantly for our community, the Plan explicitly recognises familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) and elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] as inherited and severely underdiagnosed cardiovascular risk factors. It recognises the particular relevance of screening inherited conditions in children and young people and commits the European Commission to supporting Member States with FH early-detection and screening initiatives.
The Plan also specifically references the EU-funded PERFECTO FH and FH-EARLY projects.
This recognition matters because inherited lipid disorders are present from birth. Healthy lifestyles remain essential, but they cannot identify or remove inherited risk. Early lipid testing can identify affected children before symptoms appear, while cascade and reverse-cascade screening can identify parents, siblings and other relatives who may also be at risk.
EU Screening Week therefore offers an important opportunity to demonstrate that cardiovascular prevention must be life-course, personalised and family-based, not limited to adult health checks after decades of avoidable exposure to high cholesterol.
How can organisations take part?
Participation is intended to be broad and practical. Activities may include:
This means your organisation does not need to create an entirely new screening programme. Existing initiatives can be connected to EU Screening Week when they support prevention, early detection, health literacy and the objectives of the Safe Hearts Plan.
The Commission is preparing a central registration mechanism through which participating organisations will be able to provide information about their country, location and planned activities. A common visual identity and campaign toolkit are also expected, including logos, visual materials, templates, suggested messages and social media assets.
Participating activities may be mapped and promoted through European Commission communications channels. FH Europe Foundation will share the registration information and campaign materials with its Network as soon as they become formally available.
From consultation to implementation
FH Europe Foundation and its Network have contributed throughout the development of the Safe Hearts Plan and the future European cardiovascular health-check framework.
Our policy input has brought together evidence and recommendations from FH Europe Foundation, PERFECTO, FH-EARLY, PerMed FH, the Lp(a) International Task Force, patient organisations of the Network and individual Ambassadors, scientific and clinical experts.
Through the 2025 consultation on the overall EU cardiovascular health plan and the 2026 Call for Evidence on cardiovascular health checks, we advocated for:
We also highlighted opportunities to create synergies with early screening for other childhood conditions, including presymptomatic type 1 diabetes, through coordinated childhood health checks.
Evidence from PERFECTO was particularly important in demonstrating that screening is not simply a laboratory test. Successful programmes also require trusted communication, family and community engagement, support in navigating healthcare systems and deliberate action to address inequalities.
FH-EARLY is developing new approaches for earlier and more affordable diagnosis, risk stratification and precision prevention. The Brussels International Declaration on Lp(a) Testing and Management provides an additional roadmap for integrating systematic Lp(a) testing into cardiovascular prevention.
Momentum across the FH Europe Foundation Network
The European initiative comes against a backdrop of significant progress across the wider FHEF Network. Patient organisations, scientific societies, clinicians and national groups are increasingly advocating for better screening and stronger national cardiovascular health plans and strategies.
The response of the FHEF community to the European Commission’s consultation was remarkable. Patient organisations, Patient Ambassadors, clinicians, researchers and community advocates submitted feedback and contacted national decision-makers.
Following our call to action, advocacy letters were sent to Ministries of Health and policymakers in Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Romania and the Netherlands.
The shared message was clear: inherited cardiovascular risk must be detected early, including through screening in childhood and preferably during the first decade of life. Read more about the community response.
This mobilisation helped move the discussion beyond conventional adult cardiovascular risk assessment. It reinforced the need to identify FH, HoFH, elevated Lp(a), FCS (familial chylomicronaemia syndrome) and other inherited lipid disorders before irreversible vascular damage or a cardiovascular event occurs.
France: a landmark achievement
On 20 July 2026, France promulgated a new law establishing a national strategy to prevent cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases.
Crucially, the legislation provides for an early screening appointment during the year following a child’s sixth birthday, including screening for familial hypercholesterolaemia.
This is an outstanding achievement for ANHET.f, the French FH and Lp(a) patient organisation and member of the FHEF Network, following more than a decade of evidence-based advocacy for universal early cholesterol screening.
The French development demonstrates how European ambitions for prevention can be translated into concrete national policy. Read the adopted French legislation.
New European scientific guidance
In May 2026, the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) published two major consensus statements. The updated consensus on FH in children and adolescents calls for paediatric screening programmes, revised diagnostic criteria, earlier treatment and Lp(a) measurement in children with suspected FH. The second consensus provides practical guidance on how lipid clinics and national lipid-clinic networks should be organised and funded, including staffing, registries, referral pathways, education and quality standards. Together, these publications connect early identification in childhood with the specialist services required to provide effective lifelong care.
Read the FH Europe Foundation overview of both consensus statements.
Luxembourg: translating experience into national screening
Luxembourg has introduced a free national FH screening programme for children aged 18 months, with cascade screening offered to first-degree relatives when a child is identified with FH. Additional pilot study, EARLIE, evaluated universal paediatric screening during school medical visits in Luxembourg. Among 1,860 participating children, capillary lipid testing identified three genetically confirmed cases of familial hypercholesterolaemia. Reverse cascade screening then uncovered five additional affected family members.
The screening offer and finger-prick test were well accepted, with only 1.6% of participating children declining blood sampling. However, half of the children with highly suspicious LDL cholesterol levels did not complete further assessment.
This finding highlights a crucial lesson: screening does not end with the test. Caregiver involvement, clear communication, and an effective follow-up pathway are essential to turn early detection into lifelong CVD prevention.
Read about the Luxembourg national screening programme and the practical lessons from the EARLIE pilot study here: https://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(26)00204-2/fulltext
Austria: a life-course approach to lipid health
The new Austrian Lipid Consensus 2026, developed by 32 experts representing 15 medical societies, provides interdisciplinary recommendations covering prevention and treatment from childhood to older age. It places the early identification and modern management of FH, elevated Lp(a) and other lipid disorders within a practical national framework for lifelong cardiovascular prevention.
Read the FH Europe Foundation update on the Austrian Lipid Consensus and the scientific consensus publication.
What happens next?
In response to EU Screening Week, FHEF together with the leaders of the EAS, Lp(a) International Task Force and the EAS FHSC – the Global FH Reigstry, has written to the Cabinet of European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi, offering practical support and collaboration around EU Screening Week.
We have proposed connecting the initiative with FH Awareness Day on 24 September. We have also invited the Commissioner to engage directly with young people living with FH and their families, connecting European policy with the everyday realities of people affected by inherited cardiovascular risk.
Furthermore, has adapted its FH Awareness Day 2026 programme and will launch a practical three-part webinar series. The webinars will help the community understand:
Dedicated community calls will take place on 18 and 25 August to introduce the campaign, explain how activities can qualify and clarify how members can participate in EU Screening Week.
We encourage all our Network members, Patient Ambassadors, friends, partners and supporters to take part by organising or promoting relevant activities—from webinars and awareness campaigns to community health checks and screening events—and by registering eligible initiatives through the European Commission platform once it opens.
One week. Millions of Europeans. One simple action for their health.
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