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Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 42150766 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag345

European Society of Cardiology: cardiovascular disease statistics 2025.

Eur Heart J

Authors: Adam Timmis, Steffen E Petersen, Eric Van Belle, Nick Townsend, Nathalie Conrad, Agnieszka Kaplon-Cieslicka, Denis Kazakiewicz, Maryam Kavousi, Marta Cvijic, Barbara Ignatiuk, Aleksandra Torbica, Daniel Scherr, Giuseppe Boriani, Alaide Chieffo, Efstratios Karagiannidis, Susanna Price, Helmut Puererfellner, Angela Wood, Thomas F Lüscher, Panos E Vardas

Affiliations

  • William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University London, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK.
  • Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging, Barts NIHR BRC, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
  • British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, Health Data Research UK, London, UK.
  • Department of Cardiology, Valves and Structural Heart Diseases, Valve Research and Innovation Committee - Institut Cœur-Poumon, CHU de Lille, Lille, France.
  • School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
  • Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
  • 1st Chair and Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
  • Data Science Public Health Department, European Society of Cardiology, Brussels, Belgium.
  • Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • Department of Cardiology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
  • Department of Electrophysiology, Humanitas Gavazzeni, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management (CERGAS), Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.
  • Division of Cardiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
  • Cardiology Division, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Policlinico di Modena, Modena, Italy.
  • Vita Salute, San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
  • Interventional Cardiology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
  • Department of Emergency Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK.
  • Department of Cardiology, Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen, Linz, Austria.
  • Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
  • Heart Division, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, King's College and Imperial College, London, UK.
  • Centre for Molecular Cardiology, University Zurich, Schlieren, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
  • Heart Sector, Hygeia Hospitals Group, HHG, Athens, Greece.
  • Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Abstract

This 2025 report from the ESC Atlas project is the fifth in a biennial series. It presents and compares updated cardiovascular disease (CVD) statistics for more than 50 of the ESC member countries. The statistics are for 2024 or latest available year and are stratified by sex and World Bank national income status to identify inequalities in the risk, management, and outcomes of CVD across ESC member countries. A key objective of the ESC Atlas project has been to inform EU-level policy initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of CVD, contributing to the evidence base underpinning the European Union's cardiovascular health plan ("Safe Hearts Plan"), adopted in December 2025. Population ageing is a major contributor to the continuing high prevalence of CVD across ESC member countries. The Atlas reports 68 million disability-adjusted life years attributable to CVD in association with more than 3 million deaths per year. These statistics identify CVD as the leading cause of death across ESC member countries. However, substantial variation exists by national income status, with middle-income countries exhibiting age-standardized mortality rates that are roughly twice those observed in high-income countries. Marked disparities in healthcare delivery-particularly in workforce capacity and access to advanced interventions-are also evident. These inequalities by national income status are recurrent throughout this Atlas report. They highlight clear priorities for policymakers as they develop strategies to reduce the burden of CVD in the regions where the need is greatest. This 2025 report provides a detailed picture of the complex interplay between demography, the environment, socio-economic status, and clinical factors in shaping cardiovascular (CV) risk. It underscores how the progress that has been made in reducing the CVD burden across ESC member countries is at risk of being offset by new challenges, particularly the epidemic of obesity and diabetes that continues to undermine CV health. The findings presented in this report emphasize the need for coordinated policies to combat these challenges in order to sustain the progress that has been made in reducing the burden of CVD across ESC member countries.

MeSH

Cardiovascular Diseases, Income, Risk Management, Cardiology