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Jump to Key Points The European Cardiovascular Health Data and AI Network (CHAIN), supported by the European Society of Cardiology, aims to harness health data and AI to improve cardiovascular care.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death and disability in Europe, representing the greatest burden among noncommunicable diseases. Health data and AI offer significant opportunities to improve prevention, early detection, and care for these conditions; however, their implementation is fragmented and lacks standardized validation mechanisms.
In this context, a new initiative funded through EU4Health — the EU’s 2021-2027 program supporting health systems and health-related projects — aims to harness health data and AI across the cardiovascular care pathway.
CHAIN aims to bridge this gap and focus on implementation, evaluation, governance, and scaling. This 36-month project is coordinated by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as part of a consortium of 20 European countries. It includes universities and research centers, hospitals and clinical networks, technology companies, national health ministries, and patient organizations.
- CHAIN: EU network to scale AI + health data in CVD care.
- ESC-led consortium spans 20 countries; 36-month EU4Health project.
- Built on EuroHeart registry; standardized outcomes data across 18 ESC countries.
- Federated EHDS-aligned ecosystem for secure AI testing, validation, deployment.
- Six real-world use cases in 13 countries; focus on prevention, early detection, decision support.
Standardized Tools
CHAIN builds on the ESC’s EuroHeart registry network, which already unifies 18 ESC member countries with standardized data on cardiovascular care and outcomes, providing tools and frameworks that help countries monitor outcomes, compare practices, and drive sustainable improvements in medical care.
Cecilia Marianne Linde, president of the ESC and professor in Cardiology, Heart and Vascular Theme at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, noted that “1 in 3 deaths in Europe is due to CVD, and the cost of €282,000 million to the EU exceeds the annual budget. The need for action is critical, and CHAIN aims to turn the promise of AI into better cardiovascular health for all. By helping ensure that trusted innovations reach patients safely and equitably, we can prevent disease earlier and give more people the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives.”
For his part, Folkert Asselbergs, CHAIN’s scientific coordinator and chair of the ESC’s AI Gateway at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, noted that “in this era of misinformation, patients and healthcare professionals look to medical societies like the ESC to lead the way: to provide a framework for implementing reliable solutions that truly add value beyond what is currently available.”
CHAIN’s goal is to build a federated ecosystem, aligned with the European Health Data Space (EHDS), for the secure, effective, and scalable adoption of AI and health data to improve the management of CVDs and related noncommunicable diseases.
Connecting Hospitals
In concrete terms, this means securely connecting hospitals, health data centers, and disease registries across Europe, which will enable the testing, validation, and deployment of AI solutions on a large scale. As a result, healthcare professionals will be able to identify diseases earlier, make more informed decisions, and provide more consistent and uniform care to patients.
This federated ecosystem is essential for the implementation of the European Safe Hearts Plan, particularly its initiative on innovation and the integration of AI and digital technologies into cardiovascular healthcare.
The launch of CHAIN comes at a time when the EHDS, the Artificial Intelligence Act, and the EU’s evolving regulatory framework for medical products — including legislation on medicines, medical devices, and in vitro diagnostics — are reshaping how AI is developed, evaluated, and deployed in healthcare across Europe. CHAIN will build on and seek synergies with other major EU initiatives, such as EUCAIM, COMPASS AI, AI4HF, DataTools4Heart, EHDEN, JACARDI, TEHDAS2, and Xt-EHR, helping to maximize complementarities and impact.
Tool Validation
Validated AI tools will be made available through a European repository, backed by AI passports that document their performance, safety, and suitability for clinical use. Together, these resources will help build trust in AI by providing hospitals, health authorities, and professionals with clear evidence on which solutions work, for whom, and in which clinical settings.
To demonstrate the approach in practice, six real-world use cases will be implemented across 13 countries, covering prevention, early detection, clinical decision support, and the management of complex cardiovascular conditions.
In Asselbergs’ words, “Over the next 3 years, we hope to develop a strategic roadmap to scale up the adoption of AI in cardiology across Europe. The infrastructure and standards will benefit both research and industry, and validated decision-support tools will help reduce the burden on healthcare systems. Ultimately, the availability of reliable tools should lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses, as well as safer and more personalized care for patients.”
This story was translated from El Médico Interactivo on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
