Earlier this week, on 29 September, we marked World Heart Day.

It is an occasion that invites us to think about something extraordinary that most of us rarely stop to notice: the steady rhythm that accompanies us throughout our lives.

Our heart is there in our happiest moments and our most difficult ones. It beats as we work, exercise, laugh with friends, worry about our children, and spend time with the people we love.

Most of the time, we expect it to keep going.

Until something happens.

That is what makes this year's World Heart Day message, "Don't miss a beat", particularly meaningful. Cardiovascular disease remains the world's leading cause of death, and the World Heart Federation is using this year's campaign to draw attention to signs and symptoms that can too easily go unnoticed.

But there is another message we should take from World Heart Day; one that should remain with us long after 29 September.

We need to become better at protecting our health before illness takes hold.

Before someone becomes a patient

We are fortunate in Malta to have a universal healthcare system built over generations and sustained by thousands of dedicated professionals.

When somebody becomes ill, we rightly expect our health service to be there: with doctors and nurses, medicines, technology, operations and specialised treatment. We must continue investing in all of these.

But the healthcare system of the future must ask another question too: what can we do before someone becomes a patient?

That is where prevention begins.

It may begin with something as simple as checking our blood pressure. It may be a screening appointment we have been putting off. It can mean recognising a risk factor early, becoming more physically active, eating better, stopping smoking, or talking with a healthcare professional before a manageable condition becomes serious.

These may seem like small interventions. But multiplied across an entire population, they can prevent illness, reduce suffering and transform lives.

And behind every statistic is a human story.

Anyone who has accompanied a parent, partner or friend through serious illness knows that disease never belongs only to the person whose name appears on the medical file.

Illness enters the home.

It can mean a daughter taking time away from work to accompany her father to appointments. It can mean a partner waiting anxiously for test results. It can change family routines overnight. And sometimes, it leaves an empty chair around a family table.

That is why thinking of prevention only in financial terms is not feasible.

It is about giving people more healthy years with those they love, while helping families avoid the disruption and suffering that serious illness can bring.

Making healthy living part of everyday life

Only days before World Heart Day, Malta was also marking the European Week of Sport.

At the Kirkop Sports Complex, children, young people, adults and older persons came together to try activities ranging from athletics and basketball to judo, rowing and dancing. The message was simple: everyone can find their own way of being active.

There was something important in seeing different generations moving together.

For older people in particular, the activities were not simply about exercise. Initiatives for people over 60 also provided opportunities to meet others, socialise, and remain part of a community.

That is prevention in its most human form.

It is not a lecture telling people what they should or should not do. It is about creating the conditions that make healthier living possible, accessible and enjoyable. And we should be careful not to place the entire responsibility on the individual.

People live different realities. A parent working long hours may struggle to find time for regular exercise. An older person may face mobility difficulties. Families under financial pressure do not always have the same choices.

Good public policy recognises those realities.

Our task must therefore be to make healthier choices easier choices.

A holistic approach to prevention recognises that our health is shaped not only by individual decisions, but also by the environments that shape our lives, such as our workplaces. This approach also recognises that our decisions to live a healthy lifestyle depend on the opportunities and circumstances around us.

From ambition to measurable change

This is precisely where Malta Vision 2050 becomes relevant.

The Vision recognises that, as our society ages, sustainability requires services designed around prevention, active ageing and independent living, with longer lives matched by longer, healthier and more active participation in society.

And importantly, these aspirations are being translated into measurable objectives.

Today, the baseline for people engaging in regular physical activity stands at 32%. Malta Vision 2050 sets a target of 50% by 2035, supported by physical activity and wellness programmes in schools, workplaces and communities.

The strategic objective of moving from 32% to 50% shows the Government's commitment to changing the everyday conditions that help people make decisions in favour of their health.

Another figure deserves our attention.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases.  These account for the overwhelming majority of mortality in Malta. The Vision identifies prevention and tailored policies as essential to reducing this burden. It sets a target to reduce the mortality share attributed to NCDs from a 2023 baseline of 84.4% to 82% by 2035.

These are not simply numbers on a government document.

They are a direction.

Indeed, work is already underway. In 2025, the Government launched the Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention Framework 2025-2035, while Malta is now implementing its first National Patient Safety Strategy 2026-2035. This year's World Patient Safety Day itself focused on safe care for non-communicable diseases.

The direction is clear: we are strengthening treatment while investing more in prevention, early intervention and care closer to the community.

That balance matters.

Prevention is healthcare

Sometimes, we may be tempted to speak about prevention and treatment as though we have to choose between them.

We do not.

We need excellent hospitals and stronger prevention. We need cutting-edge treatment and stronger primary care. We need investment in medical technology and investment in healthier communities.

A modern health service must do both.

The political challenge is to think beyond today's immediate pressures while responding to them effectively. The results of investing in new machines, new clinics, or additional hospital capacity can be visible in the short or long term. Prevention often works differently: its greatest successes are the illnesses that never happen.

It is the heart attack that never happens.

The diabetes detected before complications develop.

The older person who remains active and independent for longer.

The person whose high blood pressure is discovered during a routine check rather than in an emergency department.

We see that the success of prevention policies may never make a headline, but it matters enormously to the individual, their family, and our health service. That is why prevention should not be treated as an optional add-on to healthcare. It is a foundation of a sustainable health system.

This is also why prevention cannot belong to the Health Ministry alone.

It reaches into education, sport, transport, planning, the environment, workplaces and local communities. A neighbourhood in which people can walk safely is part of health policy. A school that encourages children to enjoy physical activity is part of health policy. Supporting active ageing and reducing social isolation are also part of health policy.

Health is shaped long before we enter a hospital.

One heartbeat at a time

World Heart Day comes once a year. Looking after our hearts cannot.

The challenge now is to carry its message into the other 364 days and more importantly, into the decisions we make about the Malta we want to build.

Malta Vision 2050 allows us to look beyond electoral cycles and immediate pressures and ask what a healthier country should look like a generation from now.

The future should include world-class treatment when people need it, but also a society that works harder to ensure fewer people need that treatment in the first place.

It should mean children growing up seeing movement and healthy living as a normal part of life. Adults having easier access to screening and early intervention. Older people remaining active, independent and connected to their communities for longer.

And it should mean a health service that is there not only when something goes wrong, but increasingly helps us prevent it from going wrong.

Earlier this week, World Heart Day reminded us: Don't Miss a Beat.

As we build towards 2050, that message can become something bigger than a campaign slogan.

It can become part of how we think about health itself.

Because prevention is not separate from healthcare; prevention is healthcare.

And if Malta Vision 2050 is to be a vision not simply of longer lives, but of healthier, more active and more fulfilling lives, prevention must be at its heart.

This is how we build a healthier Maltese population - one heartbeat at a time.

Romilda Zarb is a Labour MP