The only available statistical data on cardiovascular diseases which are relatively reliable and internationally comparable are those on mortality. Cardiovascular diseases constitute the leading cause of death in the elderly, especially in industrialized countries. In recent years, the majority of these countries have recorded a decreasing trend in cardiovascular mortality in the elderly as well as in younger people. Data on morbidity are not sufficiently standardized to allow international comparisons, and even within a country chronologically comparable statistical series rarely exist, especially population-based data. The U.S.A. and Japan, two of the countries which have maintained such data series and which have registered the most rapid mortality decline, do not show similar improvements in the morbidity level for cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, therefore, seem to continue to impose a great burden on society in general and on the elderly population in particular, despite some improvements in survival.
The mortality rates for the years 1975-1985 for all causes, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases obtained from the WHO Data Bank in Geneva were analysed separately for men and women in the age group 30-69 years. Data from 30 industrialised countries were available for the analysis. In most of the countries cardiovascular diseases are still responsible for nearly half the deaths in men. The highest mortality rates, except for coronary heart disease, in the age groups studied are in Eastern Europe. Most countries in this region have also registered an increase in the mortality rates during the last decade. This increase is more pronounced in men than in women. The importance of the WHO MONICA Project (Multinational Monitoring of Cardiovascular Disease and Their Determinants) for interpreting these trends is discussed. Information is provided about another WHO project "The Intensified Programme in Coronary Heart Disease Prevention" in which 27 countries are participating. The aim of this project is to facilitate the national action plans for preventing coronary heart disease and exchanging information on their implementation in different countries.
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