President Milanović Meets with “Srčana” Polyclinic Representatives to Discuss Award-Winning “Women and the Heart” Project

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović today received representatives from the “Srčana” (Heart) Polyclinic for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases and Rehabilitation in Zagreb. They presented him with their award-winning project, “Women and the Heart,” which was recently recognized at a regional conference in Zagreb. The project focuses on the early detection of cardiovascular diseases in women over 45 years of age in the city of Zagreb. Conducted from 2021 to 2023, it analysed 2,000 women, referring those with increased risk for further cardiology evaluation and treatment.

Professor Goran Krstačić, Ph.D., Director of the Polyclinic, Deputy Director Ante Miljak, Ph.D., and Andrea Snagić, Head of the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, informed President Milanović about the importance of the project. In addition to being recognized at the HealthComm Forum regional conference in Zagreb, the “Srčana” Polyclinic received the HealthComm Award for the best preventive health project in Croatia. The “Women and the Heart” project was also chosen as one of the 12 best in the world, earning the Global Achievement Award.

Due to its success, the project has been continued and expanded. Starting in February 2024, it will be conducted under the name “Early CVD Screening in Women and Men over 40 Years of Age in the City of Zagreb,” covering a broader population. During the meeting, Director Krstačić emphasized that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. In 2022, 23,303 people died of CVD in Croatia, 58 percent of whom were women. The representatives of the Polyclinic also announced that the Director of Univants Healthcare Excellence and her associates will visit Zagreb and the “Srčana” Polyclinic in September to observe the project’s results and successes first-hand.

President Milanović was accompanied by Jadranka Žarković, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education, and Neven Pelicarić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Foreign and European Policy.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta