Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of Europe’s biggest health challenges, according to new data from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Atlas of Cardiology, published in European Heart Journal.
The ESC Atlas of Cardiology celebrates 10 years with the fifth edition of the ESC Atlas report. The publication again shows that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in more than 50 ESC member countries studied. “The new report shows that cardiovascular disease is responsible for more than 3 million deaths and 68 million years of life lost annually. These are not abstract statistics – they represent lives lost too early, people living with long-term illnesses and health systems under increasing pressure,” said Professor Adam Timmis, co-first author of the paper.
Consistent with previous ESC Atlas editions, a central message is persistent and avoidable disparities in cardiovascular risk, outcomes, and access to care. Middle-income countries continue to experience about twice as much mortality as high-income countries.
Europe does not have one cardiovascular reality – ESC Atlas data show that the burden of cardiovascular disease is uneven across ESC countries. While real progress has been made in some countries, in many there are significant gaps related to access to advanced diagnostics, procedures and a skilled workforce.”
Professor Steffen Petersen, co-first author
The new ESC Atlas data highlights the growing importance of the broader determinants of cardiovascular health, with air pollution levels twice as high in middle-income countries as in high-income countries. Furthermore, the prevalence of vaping, particularly among young people, highlights the lack of evidence to support e-cigarettes as an effective smoking cessation tool. The use of e-cigarettes increases the likelihood that minors will smoke later,2 reinforcing the need for clearer youth-focused prevention regulations and policies.
The high prevalence of clinical risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity and diabetes remains a concern. Professor Timmis noted: “The progress made in reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease in some ESC member countries risks being offset by the epidemic of obesity and diabetes. The scale of years of healthy life lost due to modifiable risk factors supports urgent efforts to improve prevention in an individual’s lifetime.
Women’s disadvantage is evident in many of the variables studied, including lower access to essential cardiac procedures. While the ESC Atlas report highlighted that 40% of cardiologists are women, only 11.5% of interventional cardiologists are women, with even fewer women in cardiac surgery (8.8%).
“An important advantage of the ESC Atlas is the contributions of the ESC National Societies of Cardiology, which provide not only a picture of the burden of disease, but also a practical representation of how cardiovascular care is provided, to whom and by whom in different countries,” explained Professor Petersen, who concluded: “The ESC Atlas does not only aim to describe the first step towards these problems. action, guiding investment and supporting national cardiovascular strategies that reduce inequalities’.
In addition to the fifth published edition, interactive data dashboards showing CVD disparities in more than 50 countries are freely available on eAtlas.
Previous versions of the ESC Atlas data were presented to EU health ministers as part of discussions leading up to the recent launch of the Safe Hearts Plan, which aims to put cardiovascular disease at the heart of Europe’s public health agenda.
