Latvia's SPKC releases educational videos on heart health for World Heart Day
To mark World Heart Day, Latvia's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) has published three educational videos on cardiovascular risk factors. Cardiovascular disease remains Latvia's leading cause of death, killing about 14,000 people a year.
On September 29, marking World Heart Day, Latvia's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC), working with family doctors, cardiologists and other health specialists, released three educational videos on cardiovascular health.
Leading cause of death
According to SPKC data, cardiovascular disease was responsible for 51% of all deaths in Latvia in 2025 — around 14,000 people annually. That means nearly every second death in the country is linked to heart and blood vessel disease.
Many risk factors, however, can be influenced through daily choices. These include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, excess weight, insufficient sleep and chronic stress.
Three videos on practical steps
In the first video, family doctors Ainis Dzalbs and Gunta Tīcmane, together with SPKC specialists Anda Jakuša and Līva Aumestere, discuss five choices that help protect heart health. In the second, cardiologists Gustavs Latkovskis and Iveta Mintāle, family doctor Santa Stepiņa and Inese Mauriņa, head of the patient association “ParSirdi.lv,” explain how to assess cardiovascular risk using the SCORE2 method now used in Latvia. The third video focuses on cholesterol's role in heart health and the importance of prevention starting in childhood.
The videos cover the basics of a healthy diet, the role of physical activity, monitoring blood pressure and cholesterol, the impact of sleep and stress, and practical steps people can take starting today.
SPKC is encouraging everyone to watch the videos and choose at least one daily change to protect their heart health. The videos were produced under the JACARDI initiative, part of the EU4Health programme, which brings together 81 partner organizations from 21 European countries.
