Heart Week 2026 kicked off today, September 23, in the Republic of San Marino. Running until September 29 — World Heart Day — the programme, promoted by the Institute for Social Security (ISS), includes prevention activities, health education and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. The initiative involves citizens, students, volunteers and law enforcement officers.
The theme chosen by the World Heart Federation this year is “Don’t Miss a Beat”, an appeal to recognise the warning signs of cardiovascular disease and seek medical help promptly. The ISS statement notes that in 2025 cardiovascular disease accounted for 27.8% of all deaths among San Marino’s population. That same year, the Cardiology department carried out more than 8,000 visits and over 6,000 second-level diagnostic tests.
“Reducing the impact of cardiovascular disease starts above all with knowing one’s own risk profile, from a young age and into adulthood,” explains Roberto Bini, head of Cardiology at the ISS. This is also the goal of Cardio-40, a project relaunched this year to identify and treat risk factors early in people in their forties. For those who have already suffered a cardiovascular event, Bini adds, the ISS has set up “a secondary prevention programme with integrated medical and nursing management, including active patient follow-up, to encourage treatment adherence, disease education and closer monitoring of risk factors.”
Part of the initiative focuses on responding to cardiac arrest. “Early intervention during cardiac arrest can be decisive in saving a life, and for more than 25 years San Marino has been working to spread a culture of CPR,” says Marina Foscoli, president of the San Marino Society of Cardiology. “Today there are around 100 defibrillators across the territory registered on the DAE Responder RSM app, in addition to 18 fixed stations and about 30 AEDs assigned to law enforcement bodies and managed by the ISS.”
The programme includes resuscitation courses for adults and children, school activities, BLSD (Basic Life Support and Defibrillation) courses, and refresher training for volunteers. Around 330 middle school students, 50 high school students and 100 volunteers from the military corps are expected to take part. Roughly 50 patients are also expected to attend educational sessions on anticoagulant therapy. One such session, also dedicated to atrial fibrillation, will be held on Friday, September 25, from 9am to 1pm.
On Tuesday, September 29 at 4pm, the traditional Heart Walk returns to Parco Ausa in Dogana, open to people of all ages. A physiotherapist and a cardiologist will accompany participants along the route, with a gluten-free snack offered at the end. Throughout the week, from September 23 to 29, San Marino’s three Towers will be lit up in red.
“Heart Week brings together prevention, health education and emergency response capability,” said Health Secretary of State Massimo Andrea Ugolini. ISS Director General Claudio Vagnini stressed the ongoing nature of the effort: “For the ISS, cardiovascular prevention doesn’t end with a single week — it accompanies people through every stage of life.”
