Despite the decline of heart disease mortality in the past 30 years, CVD remains the leading cause of death in Europe. Worryingly, recent projections indicate that major CVD risk factors – tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, and physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes - as well as the ageing of the population will lead to an increase in CVD prevalence over the next 20 years under status-quo prevention and treatment trends.

• Each year CVD causes 3.9 million deaths in Europe and 1.8 million deaths in the European Union.
• Overall CVD is estimated to cost the EU economy almost €210 billion a year. Of the total cost of CVD in the EU, around 53% (€111 billion)is due to health care costs, 26% (€54 billion) is due to productivity losses and 21% (€45 billion) is due to the informal care of people with CVD.
• Dietary risk factors make the largest contribution to the risk of CVD mortality and CVD DALYs at the population level across Europe of all behavioural risk factors.
• Smoking has declined in many European countries, but the rate of decline is now slow and rates remain stable or are increasing in some countries.
• Levels of obesity remain high across Europe and in the EU in both adults and children, although rates vary substantially between countries
• The prevalence of diabetes in Europe has increased rapidly over the last ten years, increasing by more than 50% in many countries.