Cardiovascular diseases are common in the Netherlands. Obesity, ageing and an unhealthy lifestyle are factors that negatively affect the cardiovascular system. Moreover, congenital heart defects are common in the Netherlands. The challenge is to be able to diagnose and treat cardiovascular diseases before they cause symptoms. However, this raises questions about healthcare responsibility or costs: is it desirable to want to monitor healthy people to prevent disease? Moreover, this question addresses the genetic risk factors of cardiovascular disease and underlying causes of abnormal cardiovascular function.
Connecting character
Cardiovascular research in the Netherlands is largely characterised by the bottom-up organisation of research. Knowledge institutions, industry and civil society organisations invest with each other in joint projects aimed at improving the quality of cardiovascular research in the Netherlands. Input from the patient perspective is also well secured in this. The research is fundamental as well as translational and clinically applied in nature. Research focuses on the recognition of cardiovascular diseases in an early phase, the differences between men and women in cardiovascular diseases, the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure, rapid treatment of strokes, and innovations in the field of support in achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For this last topic, there is a direct link with technological research in the field of self-management, apps and games.
