European Association of Preventive Cardiology country of the month initiative: Austria

The current state of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and rehabilitation in Austria The Austrian health care system provides universal coverage for a wide range of diseases and high-quality care. Mandatory health insurance for everyone and unrestricted access to all care levels (general practitioners, specialists, and hospitals) are characteristic features of the system. As the costs of the health care system have been increasing in recent years, the Austrian parliament defined 10 core health targets. These core targets form the basis for a health care reform. Prevention is one of the key factors of this reform and should play an important role in the future health care system, also to avoid costs that would otherwise arise from diseases which require treatment. Although the incidence of myocardial infarction has slightly diminished during the last 10 years, CVDs are still the leading cause of death. According to the Ministry of Health only approximately 20% of 11–15-year-old school children can be considered to be sufficiently physically active. Also, only 25% of the adult population report to fulfil World Health Organization (WHO) and European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommendations, whereas one-third remain physically inactive. 49.9% of the adult Austrian population have a BMI of ≥25 of which 32.6% are classified as overweight and 14.4% as obese.