Cardiovascular Network Champion leads milestone study providing ‘unique picture of preventive action’
One of Scotland’s leading cardiovascular experts has helped to spearhead a vital UK study assessing coronary patients and individuals at high-risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) — continuing a wider European research programme which is celebrating its 30th anniversary
Entitled ‘EUROASPIRE VI/ASPIRE-TO-ACTION’, the multicentre UK study evaluated how effectively scientific guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention are implemented in clinical practice for high-risk patients and those with coronary heart disease.
According to sponsor organisation the European Society of Cardiology, the UK survey aimed to provide “a unique picture of preventive action by cardiologists and primary care physicians” as part of the larger European study, EUROASPIRE VI.
For EUROASPIRE VI/ASPIRE-TO-ACTION, Clinical Champion of the NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Cardiovascular Network, Professor Lis Neubeck was assigned the role of Chief Investigator (CI) for Scotland.
A grant from Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland was secured to fund patient recruitment on behalf of participating Scottish health boards and Professor Neubeck oversaw the study’s key aim of measuring “the proportions of coronary and high cardiovascular risk patients achieving the lifestyle, risk factor and therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease prevention”.
Prof Neubeck is also proud that principal results of the EUROASPIRE VI study were presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich, Germany, where she was present.
She said: “EUROASPIRE surveys have been carried out by the European Society of Cardiology for three decades and we are delighted to have made an important UK contribution to that legacy.
“We are also pleased to say that EUROASPIRE VI principal results took the spotlight as a ‘Late Breaking Clinical Trials: Global Health session’ on 29 August.
“Entitled ‘Documenting the gap between current European practice in secondary prevention and the new ESC guidelines on cardiac rehabilitation’, the 30th anniversary session from Professor David Allan Wood of the University of Galway underlined our collective endeavours while expanding wider knowledge.
“For the congress, we created a continuous slide presentation celebrating the people behind the UK study, including the Scottish team working across several NHS Scotland health boards. We believe it represented an excellent tribute to all involved.”
Findings from the larger European study — conducted between September 2024 and February 2026 in 160 hospitals across 27 countries — were recently published in the European Heart Journal, noting that “most European patients are not achieving targets set by prevention guidelines”.
It was added: “There is marked variability in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) attendance, evidence of inverse care with lowest attendance in highest risk regions, despite better outcomes for CR. These results inform the challenges for implementation of the first ESC guideline on CR.”
EUROASPIRE VI is an extension of the major prevention research programme EUROASPIRE which has helped shape policy, clinical practice and patient care over the past 30 years.
Since its inception in 1996, EUROASPIRE has become one of the most influential cardiovascular prevention research programmes on real world evidence, documenting trends in lifestyle behaviours, control of coronary risk factors, prescribing practices and preventive cardiology services across the whole of Europe and internationally across all World Health Organisation (WHO) regions.
Professor Neubeck added: “In Scotland, it is estimated that 700,000 people are living with cardiovascular disease, resulting in NHS costs of approximately £800 million per year.
“Research like EUROASPIRE VI is therefore essential in gathering as much information as possible in order to inform potentially life-changing preventive action.”
The Cardiovascular Network is focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart and circulatory diseases. Funded by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), it unites NHS boards, universities, and patients to improve heart health outcomes across Scotland.
Publication date: 22nd September 2026
