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Heart disease rates climbing in Europe
27 Feb 2008
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the highest cause of death in Europe, claiming more than 4.3 million lives every year, latest statistics reveal.
A study published by the European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network, looked at the difference in heart disease prevalence across the EU and found that CVD is responsible for 48 per cent of deaths in Europe and 42 per cent in the EU.
Researchers found that mortality rates were high in some Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Portugal, as well as regions in southern Spain and Italy.
Western European countries displayed higher mortality rates linked to CVD than their eastern or southern counterparts, with death rates for men aged under-65 living in Ireland 1.6 times higher than in Italy.
Meanwhile, Finland appeared to be leading the way in demonstrating the impact of public health intervention on minimising deaths caused by heart disease, with incidences falling by 6.5 per cent between 1983 and 1996.
"These latest figures show that cardiovascular disease is a critical health problem for Europe and must be taken seriously," Dr Georgs Andrejevs, co-chair of the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) Heart Group, which meets in Brussels today, stated.
"The elevated mortality rates in some European countries are also unacceptable from both a human and economical point of view," he added.
According to figures from the EHN statistics CVD costs the European economy €192 billion a year.
Some 57 per cent of this is directly linked to health care, 21 per cent is due to productivity losses, while 22 per cent relates to the cost of informal care by family and friends.
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