Cardiovascular Prevention among Healthcare Professionals: the ESC Congress Cardiovascular Health Check 2025
Key result
Healthcare professionals show ~13% higher hyperlipidemia awareness and better LDL-C control but underutilize recommended therapies.
- P=0.049
- n=4,098
Why the study?
Healthcare professionals play a central role in preventive care, yet their own cardiovascular health management remains poorly characterised.
Do healthcare professionals have better cardiovascular risk profiles, awareness, and treatment target achievement compared to the general population?
Key Points
- To assess cardiovascular risk profiles, awareness, guideline-recommended treatment use, target achievement, and subclinical atherosclerosis among healthcare professionals.
- Assessed 1,366 healthcare professionals (HCPs) at the ESC Congress Cardiovascular Health Check 2025 (NCT07613229) using standardized risk factor screening, medication audits, and carotid ultrasonography in a subgroup.
- Compared HCPs without established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) against 2,732 age- and sex-matched controls from the general population (REACT initiative).
- Among HCPs, 46.8% had excess body weight, 23.2% hypertension, 22.7% hyperlipidaemia, 11.1% established ASCVD, and 21.8% of those without ASCVD had subclinical atherosclerosis.
- In primary prevention, HCPs less frequently used antihypertensive therapy (27.6% vs. 46.5%; P<0.001) and glucose-lowering therapy (60.0% vs. 85.0%; P=0.001) compared to matched controls, but more often met LDL-C (57.5% vs. 32.0%; P<0.001) and systolic blood pressure targets (47.5% vs. 24.6%; P=0.003).
- In secondary prevention, 41.4% of HCPs used lipid-lowering therapy, 9.2% used antiplatelet therapy, and only 22.2% on lipid-lowering therapy achieved target LDL-C levels.
Study Design
Type
Cross-Sectional (n=4,098)
Structured PICO
Do healthcare professionals have better cardiovascular risk profiles, awareness, and treatment target achievement compared to the general population?
P
Population
4,098 individuals, comprising 1,366 healthcare professionals attending the ESC Congress and 2,732 matched controls from the general population, assessed for cardiovascular risk profiles and treatment target achievement.
C
Comparator
Age- and sex-matched individuals from the general population (REACT initiative)
O
Outcome
Cardiovascular risk profiles, awareness, treatment use, target achievement, and subclinical atherosclerosissurrogate
Main Result
Absolute Event Rate: 62.2% vs 54.9%
p-value: p=0.049
Healthcare professionals show significant gaps in cardiovascular prevention, particularly in the use of guideline-recommended therapies, despite better achievement of some risk factor targets compared to the general population.
Ask about this paper
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Key expert perspectives
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
“Our findings show that healthcare professionals are not immune to the same barriers that limit cardiovascular prevention in the general population. These results tell us that once healthcare professionals engage with treatment, it works well. The core problem lies earlier in the pathway – in whether guideline-recommended therapy is started and maintained at all.”
“The study offers a rare, large-scale window into a population that is otherwise difficult to study.”
“Even those who spend their careers treating cardiovascular disease in others often do not receive – or seek – the same standard of preventive care for themselves. This is not a failure of knowledge, but of implementation, and it points to systemic barriers that deserve attention.”
Implication
Despite higher awareness and LDL-C targets, HCPs underutilize recommended therapies; leaves open whether targeted interventions improve prevention uptake.
Abstract
Background and Aims Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a central role in preventive care, yet their own cardiovascular health management remains poorly characterised. We evaluated cardiovascular risk profiles, awareness, treatment use, target achievement and subclinical atherosclerosis among HCPs attending the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress. Methods HCPs participating in the ESC Congress Cardiovascular Health Check 2025 (n=1366) underwent standardised assessment of cardiovascular risk factors, medication use, treatment targets, and carotid ultrasonography in a subgroup. HCPs without established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) were compared with age- and sex-matched individuals from the general population (REACT initiative; n=2732). Results Among HCPs, excess body weight was the most prevalent modifiable risk factor (46.8%), followed by hypertension (23.2%), and hyperlipidaemia (22.7%). Established ASCVD was present in 11.1% and subclinical atherosclerosis was detected in 21.8% of HCPs without established ASCVD. Compared with matched controls, unrecognised hyperlipidaemia (7.5% vs. 8.4%; P=0.293), hypertension (11.9% vs. 13.9%; P=0.079), and diabetes (0.4% vs. 0.4%; P=0.864) were similarly frequent; awareness was higher only for hyperlipidaemia (62.2% vs. 54.9%; P=0.049). In primary prevention, HCPs were less likely to use recommended antihypertensive (27.6% vs. 46.5%; P<0.001) and glucose-lowering therapy (60.0% vs. 85.0%; P=0.001), but more often achieved LDL-C (57.5% vs. 32.0%; P<0.001) and systolic blood pressure targets (47.5% vs. 24.6%; P=0.003). In secondary prevention, 41.4% of HCPs used lipid-lowering therapy, only 9.2% used antiplatelet therapy, and only 22.2% of those using lipid-lowering therapy achieved the LDL-C target. Conclusions HCPs showed important gaps in cardiovascular prevention, particularly regarding the use of guideline-recommended therapy, highlighting the need for systematic implementation strategies among HCPs.
Discussion
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Cite This Study
Wenzl et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiovascular risk (n=4,098). Healthcare professional status vs. Age- and sex-matched individuals from the general population was evaluated on Awareness of hyperlipidaemia (p=0.049). Compared to matched controls, healthcare professionals had higher awareness of hyperlipidaemia and more often achieved LDL-C targets, but underutilized recommended therapies.