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Honourable Dean of the Guild of Physicians
Honourable President of the Association of Municipalities of the Algarve
Honourable Mayor of Faro
Honourable Civil Governor of Faro
Honourable Presidents of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology and of the Conference Scientific Committee
Honourable Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I greet the delegates of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology.
The issues which will be debated here are in everyone’s interest and not just in that of the Conference participants. In accordance with data available for 2003, cardiovascular diseases are the largest cause of mortality in Portugal and in Europe. Worldwide, almost one third of deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases. But there is more, the international trend indicates an increase in mortality due to these diseases, especially in the developed countries of Europe and North America.

Honourable Delegates,
The Portuguese Society of Cardiology is a medical society, whose aims are in the areas of professional training and scientific dissemination, and which merits public recognition for the activities accomplished since its foundation, nearly sixty years ago. In the field of public health its actions have impended upon epidemiological registration and in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. It is thus a scientific medical society which follows aims as noble as they are ambitious. And this Conference, already in its 28th edition, is a true testimonial to the dynamics of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology.
 
The theme of the Conference, «Cardiology and the Portuguese», exactly reflects the concerns of this Society to reach the people, the primary beneficiaries of the work of the physicians meeting here.
 
I would like to say to all those present that, such as the Society which organized this Conference, so the President of the Republic is endeavouring to disseminate good professional practices and to promote the responsible behaviours which will lead to an improved health for the Portuguese.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Cardiovascular diseases are included in a group of pathologies which can be prevented. The primary prevention of heart and blood vessel diseases depends, in good measure, on the adoption of healthy behaviours and life styles. Prominent amongst these are giving up smoking, choosing a healthy diet, fighting sedentary habits and stress, and taking physical exercise.
 
As citizens, we have the right to demand healthy public policies. Apart from protective measures in working areas and a healthier urban planning, the need to instruct and educate for health should be highlighted. Nowadays, the State should persuade the people to take healthy options. Only an informed person has the means to make good choices.
 
If citizens have the right to demand healthy public policies, they are also duty-bound to lead a healthier life. As effective as the actions of the State may be, and however competent the physicians - and of this I have no doubts – results will always be scarce if citizens do not care for their health, for their own health.
 
Health starts with us. It is our health which is at cause. Contrary to what is sometimes said, the promotion of a healthy life style is not a paternalistic stance taken by the public authorities, nor is it an intolerable meddling in each one’s freedom or privacy. Nobody wishes to institute any «tyranny of health» or a «healthy living dictatorship».

In a free and open society, everyone has the right to choose his life style and his behaviour, so long as it does not collide with others’ freedom. But, in a developed society, everyone must recognize the risks that derive, as scientific research has anyway shown, of certain life styles and behaviours. If information exists, freedom is an integral part of responsibility. We cannot insist on being autonomous in the choice of our life styles, and then expect the State and the physicians to cure diseases which we could have avoided.
 
There is much to be carried out in several areas. As examples, I will just mention the moderation in the use of salt and the fight against obesity, a situation which has alarming contours, especially since it emerges ever more precociously. Portugal cannot deny the existence of this trend: infantile and juvenile obesity is a reality we earnestly have to face. In this sense, apart from the existing and coming legislation, youth health education is particularly relevant.

The example of the fight against the smoking habit demonstrates what can be done to lessen that which is the greatest risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Policies which lead towards a reduction in the use of tobacco constitute, on the one hand, a civic duty to demand that non-smokers are respected and protected, especially those younger in age and, on the other, an opportunity to provide information and to create the conditions for a responsible choice. Respect for others starts with self-respect.

Honourable Delegates,
I have stated that Portuguese Medicine has a quality that places it alongside with the highest international standards. I am well aware that this Conference has topmost international accreditation, conferred by prestigious institutions such as the European Society of Cardiology and the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. I also know that the Portuguese Society of Cardiology has been active in the establishment of cooperation links with similar institutions in Portuguese speaking countries, such as Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Research in the science of health must be encouraged, as well as the recognition of the efforts of each team and of each researcher, and also the cooperation with renowned foreign institutions. I am heedful of the efforts of Portuguese scientists and this was my objective when I launched the «Routes to Science».
 
The fight for the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases must rally the Portuguese. Public health is a collective task, an overall effort which each one must commence. There are no main or secondary performers in the defence of health.

I would wish that the presence of the President of the Republic in this Conference would be an incentive, so that every single day, in a spirit of cooperation, Government, local authorities, enterprises and, above all, the people, worked more towards a healthy Portugal. From the bottom of my heart – and I believe this an appropriate word on this occasion – I wish you the best success in your labours.