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Reliable epidemiological data on cardiovascular risk factors in Croatia have been lacking. This new study identifies targets for interventions Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in most European transitional countries.1 Among these countries, standardised mortality from cardiovascular disease is highest in Hungary (508 per 100 000 population) and Croatia (500/100 000) and lowest in Slovenia (295/100 000) and central European countries (238/100 000). In Croatia, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and accounts for more than half the overall mortality.1 Furthermore, cardiovascular mortality has been constantly rising since the 1970s. Until recently, no reliable epidemiological data were available on the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the Croatian population. The existing studies only comprised small unrepresentative samples and provided conflicting results. Hence, there was no evidence base for developing policy on reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease in the future and recommending interventions for people with cardiovascular risk factors.2 3 In collaboration with the Canadian Society for International Health, we conducted the Croatian adult health survey in the summer of 2003 among citizens aged 18 and older. After we stratified the country by region (as defined by the Croatian Central Bureau of Statistics), the sample comprised 10 766 randomly selected households; 9070 individuals agreed to participate (overall response rate 84.2%). This was the first representative population survey to be conducted in Croatia.
Kern et al. (2005) studied this question.