Cardiovascular disease at the turn of the millennium: focus on Europe

Cardiovascular disease currently causes more than 4 million deaths each year in Europe alone. An acceleration in the cardiovascular disease epidemic has been predicted in developing countries, and the World Health Organization estimates that ischaemic heart disease will be the leading cause of disease/injury worldwide by the year 2020. Smoking, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension remain the most common risk factors, but the prevalence of obesity and diabetes has increased considerably in recent years. Traditionally, male gender was also considered to be an important risk factor. During the past 15 years, however, females have overtaken males with respect to the annual number of cardiovascular disease deaths.