No more heart and vascular diseases catching us off guard, and research and innovation results applied faster in practice. That's the ambition of the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA), as it celebrates its five-year anniversary this summer. During the DCVA-NLHI Congress in Utrecht on June 22nd and 23rd, we will reflect on our achievements and set our sights on what lies ahead.
Established in 2018, the DCVA brings together scientists, healthcare professionals, funders, and societal organizations in the field of cardiovascular research. This nationwide collaboration aims to enable early detection of heart and vascular diseases and accelerate the development and implementation of solutions for the benefit of patients. Our joint mission is to raise one billion euros by 2030, working together to reduce the disease burden by a quarter.
In these intensive first five years, we have accomplished the following:
- The number of partners has grown from 12 to 22, including influential organizations such as the Hartstichting, Harteraad, ZonMw, NWO, KNAW, 4TU, Health~Holland, associations of cardiologists (NVVC), vascular medicine internists (NVIVG), vascular surgeons (NVvV), thoracic surgeons (NVT), primary care physicians specializing in cardiovascular diseases (HartVaatHAG), cardiovascular nurses (NVHVV), the Dutch Neurovascular Working Group (NNW), the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU), Netherlands Heart Institute (NLHI), Dutch Heart Registration (NHR), Netherlands Cardiovascular Research Initiative (WCN), Association of Innovative Medicines (VIG), Nefemed, the Dutch Society of Radiology (NVvR), and the Dutch Association of Clinical Genetics (VKGN).
- We have established FIRST, a funding fund for medical startups, with an initial budget of 12 million euros contributed by the government and the Hartstichting.
- Through FIRST, we have supported three promising startups: Targed, River Biomedics, and Phlox Therapeutics, attracting additional funding, including funding from abroad.
- The DCVA brings over 40 national research programs together, including Check@Home, which prepares for nationwide early detection of heart and vascular diseases, chronic kidney damage, and type 2 diabetes using a simple home test.
- An increasing number of national research programs have been initiated with contributions from multiple DCVA partners, such as the Hartstichting, ZonMw, NWO, and Health~Holland.
- We have successfully collaborated during times of crisis, rapidly mapping the impact of COVID-19 on the heart through the CAPACITY consortium and its successors.
- We are enhancing research infrastructure and enabling innovative approaches, such as registration-based studies where anonymized hospital data contribute to faster, practice-oriented research, such as investigations into heart failure.
- We have initiated implementation programs to ensure consistent high-quality care nationwide, improving guidelines, for example, for rhythm disorders.
Professor Jolien Roos-Hesselink, Managing Director of the DCVA, states, "The Netherlands ranks among the scientific elite in cardiovascular research and publications, but lags behind in translating the results into practice. That's exactly where the DCVA aims to make a difference by collaborating with the entire field. And with great success: our DCVA is now being envied by international counterparts, who often inquire about replicating our model."
To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the DCVA is making a festive contribution to the annual DCVA-NLHI Congress in Utrecht, taking place on Thursday, June 22nd, and Friday, June 23rd. In September of this year, around DCVA's official anniversary on September 12th, experts from the University of Twente and Groningen will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the results achieved through all the projects.
All DCVA Partners
The DCVA is a collaborative alliance comprising the Hartstichting, Harteraad, ZonMw, NWO, KNAW, 4TU, Health~Holland, associations of cardiologists (NVVC), vascular medicine internists (NVIVG), vascular surgeons (NVvV), thoracic surgeons (NVT), primary care physicians specializing in cardiovascular diseases (HartVaatHAG), cardiovascular nurses (NVHVV), the Dutch Neurovascular Working Group (NNW), the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU), Netherlands Heart Institute (NLHI), Dutch Heart Registration (NHR), Netherlands Cardiovascular Research Initiative (WCN), Association of Innovative Medicines (VIG), Nefemed, the Dutch Society of Radiology (NVvR), and the Dutch Association of Clinical Genetics (VKGN).
