The (possibly) deceptive figures of decreased coronary heart disease mortality in Europe: Figure 1

Abstract

This editorial refers to ‘Cardiovascular disease in Europe: epidemiological update’[†][1], by M. Nichols et al. , on page 3028 and ‘Trends in age-specific coronary heart disease mortality in the European Union over three decades: 1980–2009’[‡][2], by M. Nichols et al. , on page 3017 Nichols et al . have presented updated data on the distribution of cardiovascular disease in Europe,1 and describe the trends observed in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in the European Union over a period of 30 years, from 1980 to 2009.2 The authors analyse sex-specific data from the World Health Organization (WHO), with the intention of determining the burden of cardiovascular disease in European countries, and whether the known overall decrease in CHD mortality has been uniform during this period of time, across countries, sex, and age groups. Unfortunately, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in Europe, accounting for 46% of the total number of deaths, with ∼20% related to coronary artery disease and 12% to stroke. It still is the leading cause of death among both men and women. In a few countries, mainly from Western and Southern Europe, however, cancer has become the leading cause of death. Perhaps more importantly still, cardiovascular disease caused the premature death of 1.5 million people before the age of 75. When comparing the most recent data for age-standardized mortality across European countries, huge differences can be observed, with lower rates in Israel, France, Spain, and The Netherlands, and up to seven-fold higher rates in Eastern countries such as the Russian Federation or Uzbekistan. Beyond mortality, cardiovascular disease also has a major impact on morbidity, although figures on hospitalization for cardiovascular disease represent a gross approximation of the burden this condition may represent. Between-country and time comparisons are, however, difficult to make, as the reported rates are … [1]: #fn-2 [2]: #fn-3