The first-ever EU Screening Week will take place from 28 September to 4 October 2026, creating a Europe-wide moment for prevention, screening and early detection.
The initiative follows FH Awareness Day on 24 September and coincides with World Heart Day on 29 September, offering our community a timely opportunity to connect awareness of inherited cardiovascular risk with wider European action.
FH Europe Foundation encourages its entire Network and the wider cardiovascular health community across the European Union to get involved.
Framed as a cardiometabolic prevention and screening initiative, EU Screening Week is linked to the EU Safe Hearts Plan and the Know Your Numbers campaign.
Its message is simple but powerful: people should know the health indicators that matter to them, including, but not limited to, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar and be empowered to take preventive action as early as possible.
For the inherited lipid disorders community, this is also an important opportunity to demonstrate that cardiovascular prevention must begin early and take inherited risk into account. Conditions such as familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and familial chylomicronaemia syndrome (FCS) are genetically determined and remain severely underdiagnosed. High triglycerides can also represent an important and frequently overlooked cardiovascular or metabolic risk.
You can read more about the background, policy context and importance of EU Screening Week in our initial announcement published on 14 July.
Participation is deliberately flexible. Patient organisations, healthcare professionals, advocates, community groups and other partners can contribute by:
The European Commission’s registration platform is currently limited to activities located in the 27 EU Member States. We nevertheless encourage members and partners outside the European Union to consider how they might support or amplify the campaign. Online activities may also reach people across national borders, although the eligibility and registration arrangements for online-only events are not yet fully clear. FHEF is seeking further clarification from the European Commission and will update the community as soon as this is confirmed.
Registered activities will be showcased on a dedicated EU Screening Week webpage, helping people find screening and awareness initiatives in their area.
EU Screening Week begins only four days after FH Awareness Day on 24 September. This creates a natural bridge between raising awareness of FH and taking practical action to improve cardiovascular health.
Whether you organise cholesterol testing, promote an existing paediatric or family-based screening programme, hold an educational webinar, engage local policymakers or share trusted information through social media, your contribution matters.
By taking part, our community can help ensure that inherited lipid disorders, including FH, homozygous FH, elevated Lp(a) and FCS are visible within Europe’s prevention and early-detection agenda.
It is also an opportunity to reinforce an essential message: screening is not only about carrying out a test. It must be connected to clear pathways for diagnosis, family screening, treatment, support and long-term follow-up.
Please register your activity with the European Commission by 20 September 2026.
We also invite members of the FHEF Network, Patient Ambassadors, healthcare professionals, scientific partners and supporters to share their plans with FH Europe Foundation. This will help us amplify your work and demonstrate the collective contribution of our community across Europe.
Together, we can put prevention and early detection at the heart of cardiovascular health and help more people know their numbers before a cardiovascular event occurs.
The European Commission’s registration form asks organisations to provide:
The form must be completed in English, but the published event information will be automatically translated into all 24 official EU languages. The name, email address and telephone number of the responsible contact person are collected for coordination and communication purposes and will not be displayed publicly.
The form allows organisers to enter their activity’s opening and closing dates and does not currently appear to restrict those dates to the official EU Screening Week period of 28 September–4 October. This suggests that relevant activities taking place shortly before or after the official week may also be eligible for registration.
FHEF is seeking confirmation of this point and is encouraging the European Commission to recognise relevant prevention, awareness and screening activities organised outside the official dates, including activities connected with FH Awareness Day on 24 September. We will update our community as soon as further guidance is available.