Lecture by prof. Richard Hobbs, President of the EPCCS, a WONCA special interest group, held during the WONCA Europe Conference in Paris on July 2, 2026
Prof. Richard Hobbs. President and chairman EPCCS - European Primary Care Cardiovascular Society. Pro-Vice-Chancellor. University of Oxford, United Kingdom- Mercian Professor & Head of Oxford Primary Care
The most important cause of death, and crucially premature death, in most countries are events secondary to cardio-renal- metabolic disease (CRM). Further, CRM is the main cause of major disability and therefore health and social care expenditure as well as reduced quality of life for patients and families. Fortunately, CRM has the largest evidence base in medicine and is the focus for much innovation in healthcare interventions given the importance of CRM disease to health systems. However, unfortunately, Health systems are failing to effectively implement prevention strategies in CRM such as better identify and mitigate the common risk factors that drive CRM disease. And this is despite the WHO’s priority call for increased focus on disease prevention and long-term condition (LTC) management.
Primary care has a key role to play in disease prevention and as much as 40% of GP caseload will relate to CRM disease. This session will update recent guidance on how we should manage classic CRM risk factors but also explore the reasons for the more recent emphasis on the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on CRM outcomes and the dramatically rising importance of managing obesity.
