Strengthening cardiovascular care resilience across Europe: the RESIL-Card initiative

The RESIL-Card project was launched in December 2023 due to the critical vulnerabilities in cardiovascular care delivery that were highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESIL-Card is a 3-year EU4Health-funded initiative. It is led by We CARE, along with partners GISE (Italy), Amsterdam UMC’s Healthcare Services and Systems Research Group (The Netherlands), and CatSalut (Catalonia).

The aim of this initiative is to strengthen the resilience of European (EU) cardiovascular care systems to ensure the continuity of high-quality care during future potential crises. The project’s core focus is the development of a resilience assessment toolkit to help cardiovascular stakeholders evaluate and enhance the preparedness of their care pathways. Given the increasingly complex international context and the recent launch of crisis preparedness initiatives in Europe, RESIL-Card’s mission is deemed more relevant than ever. The project reflects a shared commitment among partners to improving cardiovascular care resilience through innovation, collaboration, and excellence.

The project is supported by major EU cardiovascular organisations and a multistakeholder Advisory Board. The work is divided into specific work packages, including an initial phase (WP1) focused on designing the toolkit, pilot testing (WP2) and dissemination (WP3).

The initial phase (WP1) involved designing the resilience assessment toolkit. Insights were gathered to characterize pandemic-related disruptions, adaptations, and innovations. The Amsterdam UMC group, leading the design work, explained that they used a “stepwise and inclusive approach” to developing an evidence-based tool, relying on lessons learned from the pandemic. This methodology included a scoping review, a survey of EU cardiologists, and focus groups with clinical, organisational, and policy experts. The first version of the RESIL-Card toolkit was released in January 2025, marking a key milestone in the project. 

A Head of a Cardiology Department (Italy) who participated in a focus group reflected on the difficulty of revisiting past events but recognized their necessity: “It hasn’t been easy to relive some moments that now seem so far away, but they are what allowed us to emerge from a pandemic and will hopefully help us through any crises we may still encounter”.

Pilot testing of the RESIL-Card toolkit (WP2) is currently underway. This phase is assessing the toolkit’s functionality, usability, and real-world applicability. The workstream lead for pilot testing (CatSalut) noted that it is “notable how enthusiastic healthcare professionals are about strengthening the system, not just for individual patients, but for the benefit of the entire population”.

Dissemination efforts (WP3) throughout 2026 will promote the broad adoption and integration of the RESIL-Card toolkit into EU healthcare systems. The project anticipates amplifying its impact through collaboration with JACARDI and supporting bodies like EUPHA.

To learn more about RESIL-CARD, check the project’s news on the following platforms, Website, X, LinkedIn