Although a trend of reducing mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been noticed in the developed world in recent decades, CVDs are still the leading cause of death in nearly all countries in the world. According to Global Burden of Disease from 2013, it was estimated that CVDs cause 17.3 million deaths worldwide, i.e. 31.5% of overall mortality. The share of premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases ranges from 4% in high-income countries to 42% in low-income countries, which leads to growing inequality in the incidence and outcomes of CVDs among countries and populations. It is estimated that by 2030, 23.6 million people will die due to CVDs. At European level, this group of diseases is responsible for about 4 million deaths per year, i.e. 45% of all deaths (49% of deaths in women and 40% of all deaths in men).
There are great differences or disparities in the burden of CVDs in the European region, as well as in mortality trends. EU member states tend to have lower mortality rates and a significant mortality decrease trend (especially “old” EU member states), compared to other countries in the European region.
The range of 10-year reduction of age-standardized mortality rates (from 2003 to 2013) in the “old” EU member states ranges from 25.2% in Austria to 49.7% in Luxembourg for men, while for women mortality reduction ranged from 25.3% in Italy to 49.2% in Portugal. Croatia in this period recorded a decrease in mortality rates of 34.3% for men and 35.2% for women. However, CVDs still remain the leading cause of death in Croatia with 25 694 deaths, i.e. a share of 47.4% in total mortality (52.9% of deaths in women and 41.7% of deaths in men).
The leading diagnostic subgroups were ischemic heart disease accounting for 21.2% (11,509) and cerebrovascular diseases, accounting for 13.7% (7433) of total mortality. Comparing the mortality from CVDs in Croatia with other European countries, Croatia with standardized mortality rate of 324/100,000 ranks among the European countries as a country with medium high mortality rates. The average for the countries of the European region is 342/100,000, and for EU countries 208/100,000, which ranges from 107 to 592/100,000 (France-Bulgaria). Analysis of hospital morbidity indicates an increase in hospitalization rates in most European countries, which indicates that the pressure on the health system due to cardiovascular diseases increased, regardless of the reduction in mortality.
To conclude, despite the positive trend in the reduction of CV mortality, there are large disparities in Europe in the incidence and outcomes of CVDs, as well as the growing pressure on the health system, which requires comprehensive preventive measures. (