Cardiovascular Diseases in Central and Eastern Europe: A Call for More Surveillance and Evidence-Based Health Promotion

Abstract

Introduction: Epidemiologic Background and Trajectory Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death in Europe accounting for 45% of all deaths. More than 4 million Europeans die every year from CVD, primarily from coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Many more are hospitalized and many develop long term disability and require lifelong treatment [1]. Besides the human suffering, CVD has major economic implications for Europe. The economic cost CVD imposes to the EU economy is estimated at €210 billion a year, which includes direct health care costs and non-health costs such as productivity losses and the informal care of people with CVD [2]. The region including Central and Eastern Europe (CEE/CIS) has the highest cardiovascular disease mortality in the world [3, 4]. Although CVD mortality in Europe has declined over past decades, the pace of this decline in the European region has significant variability [5]. The World Health Organization's (WHO) European region includes 53 states with diverse sociopolitical and economic backgrounds. In this article we refer to two groups of countries: 1) CEE, including eleven ex-socialist countries (Bulgaria, Croatia,

The Burden of Associated Comorbidities in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea—Regional Differences in Two Central–Eastern European Sleep Centers

“…Although there were differences in some of these variables between the two countries, the prevalence of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease was significantly higher in Romanian patients even following adjustment for these factors. Although the data on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity in central Europe are scarce, the age-standardized cardiovascular mortality in the two countries is similar [30,31]. In both cohorts, patients were referred for a diagnostic sleep test based on symptoms and comorbidities.…”

Influence of Acute Coronary Syndrome on Intraoperative Dynamics of Il-6 During Coronary Revascularization

“…Even more require hospitalization and long-term treatment. Direct and non-direct economic losses of the EU amount to more than 210 billion euros annually [1][2][3][4][5]. According to the report of the American Heart Association (AHA) for 2020, 7.4 % of men and 6.2 % of women suffer from CHD, and myocardial infarction occurs in 3 % of citizens over the age of 20.…”

“…About $ 1.1 trillion is spent annually on CVD treatment in the United States. More than 8 million people have CVD in Ukraine, which puts these diseases in the first place, as well as around the world, with 12,000 of them having AMI [9], and the total mortality from CHD in 2015 was 433 per 100,000 population [1,3,4].…”

Lower Limb Major Amputation Data as a Signal of an East/West Health Divide Across Europe

“…In contrast to Western European countries (WECs), Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) have a notably high burden of CVD. 1 There is broad consensus that the magnitude of the CVD epidemic in this region calls for action to strengthen the epidemiological knowledge base. 1 The CEECs include 11 exsocialist countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic) that joined the European Union (EU) in the period 2004e2007.…”

“…1 There is broad consensus that the magnitude of the CVD epidemic in this region calls for action to strengthen the epidemiological knowledge base. 1 The CEECs include 11 exsocialist countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic) that joined the European Union (EU) in the period 2004e2007. They represent 20% of the total EU population, emphasising the importance of this health issue.…”