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EnglishWhat Do the European Heart Network's Cardiovascular Disease Statistics Show?
Updated
The European Heart Network (EHN) publishes headline figures on cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Europe: about 3.9 million deaths per year, 45% of all deaths in Europe, an annual cost of €210 billion to the EU economy, and 85 million people living with CVD. These are the summary numbers shown on the EHN homepage; the organisation points readers to its dedicated "European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics" section for the full data set.
The four headline figures
| Indicator | Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| CVD deaths in Europe | 3.9 million per year | Annual mortality from cardiovascular disease across Europe |
| Share of all deaths | 45% | CVD's portion of total deaths in Europe |
| Annual cost to the EU economy | €210 billion | Economic burden of CVD on the EU |
| People living with CVD in Europe | 85 million | Total population affected by CVD |
Read together, the numbers describe a condition that causes nearly half of all deaths in Europe, affects roughly 85 million people, and imposes a cost in the hundreds of billions of euros each year. The EHN frames this as the reason its work centres on prevention and reduction of CVD, "in particular heart disease and stroke."
How the EHN presents these figures
The statistics appear on the homepage under a "Why it matters" heading, alongside a link to the fuller "European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics" page. The homepage itself gives only the four summary values above; it does not break them down by country, age group, sex, or CVD subtype. For those details, the statistics section is the entry point.
The EHN's mission statement connects the data to its stated goal: "every European has a right to a life free from avoidable cardiovascular diseases." Its activities — prevention, patient representation, research, and advocacy — are presented as responses to the burden these figures describe.
What the figures do and do not tell you
Useful for:
- Establishing the scale of CVD in Europe in a single sentence or slide.
- Framing prevention or policy arguments with an authoritative European source.
- Comparing CVD's share of deaths (45%) against its economic cost (€210 billion) to show both human and financial impact.
Not sufficient for:
- Country-level comparisons — the homepage gives only Europe-wide totals.
- Trend analysis over time — no year-on-year series is shown on the homepage.
- Breakdowns by disease type (e.g., heart disease versus stroke) or by risk factor.
If you need any of these, go to the EHN statistics page rather than relying on the homepage summary.
Where to find the full statistics
The EHN homepage links to its "European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics" section (labelled "CVD Statistics" in the navigation). That is the place to look for the underlying data behind the four headline figures. The homepage also links to the EHN's publications, which may include statistical reports.
A note on scope
The figures are described as covering Europe (deaths, prevalence) and the EU economy (cost). The homepage does not specify the reference year for each figure or the exact geographic definition used for "Europe." If precision matters for your use — for example, citing in a report — check the statistics page for the source year and methodology before quoting the numbers.