World Heart Day initiatives promote prevention in Croatia and Serbia

In observance of World Heart Day, public health initiatives were held in Vinkovci, Croatia, and Kragujevac, Serbia, focusing on cardiovascular disease prevention and early detection.

In Vinkovci, the city provided three automated external defibrillators, valued at nearly 9,000 euros, to the sports halls of four elementary schools: Antun Gustav Matoš, Bartol Kašić, Ivan Goran Kovačić, and Josip Kozarac. Local health organizations and the Red Cross organized a public campaign in the city park where citizens could undergo blood pressure and BMI assessments, receive nutritional advice, and learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques.

In Kragujevac, the Institute of Public Health organized preventive screenings at the ‘Centar’ Green Market plateau. Citizens had access to blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose testing, as well as ECGs and abdominal ultrasounds. The initiative aimed to highlight that heart disease can often be asymptomatic. In Serbia, cardiovascular diseases are linked to nearly 50 percent of all deaths, with 80 percent of these cases caused by preventable or controllable risk factors.