EUROPEAN HEART NETWORK AISBL

Their core work

The European Heart Network is a Brussels-based advocacy and public health association representing national heart foundations and cardiovascular patient groups across Europe. In H2020 research consortia, they contribute patient engagement expertise, end-user validation, and dissemination reach to lay audiences — functions that purely technical partners cannot provide. Their two projects show involvement in both patient-facing digital health tools (decision support, behavioral interventions) and large-scale cardiovascular data analytics, reflecting a role that bridges clinical research with public health impact. They are a specialist contributor rather than a technical lead, adding credibility and patient-community access to multi-partner consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EHN's early H2020 work (HeartMan, from 2016) was tightly focused on the individual patient experience — decision support tools, personal health systems, electronic health records, and notably behavioral science methods such as CBT and mindfulness to help patients manage heart failure. Their subsequent project (BigData Heart, from 2017) dropped the behavioral and personal-device vocabulary entirely and shifted to population-level analytics across multiple cardiovascular conditions: heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and acute coronary syndrome. This suggests a deliberate move from patient-centered digital tools toward systemic, data-driven approaches that operate at the health-system level rather than the individual patient level.

EHN is evolving from supporting patient-facing applications toward contributing to large-scale cardiovascular data infrastructure, making them increasingly relevant for consortia working on health data governance, real-world evidence generation, and multi-condition cardiology platforms.

How they like to work

EHN has never led an H2020 project, always joining as a participant — a pattern consistent with organizations that bring high-value but non-technical contributions such as patient network access, advocacy reach, and dissemination capacity. Despite only two projects, they have engaged with 29 unique consortium partners across 12 countries, pointing to involvement in sizeable multi-partner RIA consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations. For a potential partner, this means EHN is an accessible and experienced consortium member but is unlikely to drive technical coordination or project management.

With 29 unique partners across 12 countries from just two projects, EHN connects to a wide and diverse European research network. Their Brussels base and pan-European membership structure give them natural reach into health policy, clinical, and patient-organization circles across EU member states.

What sets them apart

EHN occupies a rare position as a pan-European patient and advocacy organization with documented H2020 research experience specifically in cardiovascular digital health and data analytics — a combination that most technical research groups lack. For consortia building tools that need patient community uptake, regulatory messaging, or public health dissemination across multiple EU countries, EHN provides both the legitimacy and the access. Their direct connection to national heart foundations means they can mobilize patient cohorts, advisory panels, and lay communication channels that no hospital or university partner can replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BigData Heart
  The longest project in their portfolio (six years, 2017-2023) and their highest-funded engagement (EUR 150,800), covering three major cardiovascular conditions using big data methods under IMI2 funding scheme.
• HeartMan
  Stands out for its unusual combination of clinical decision support with behavioral psychology (CBT, mindfulness, cognitive dissonance), placing EHN at the intersection of cardiology and mental health for chronic disease self-management.