ABSTRACT
Coronary heart disease, together with other cardiovascular diseases are responsible for more than 17.3 million deaths per year and are the leading causes of death in the world. Throughout Europe, cardiovascular disease accounts for about 40% of overall mortality; the majority of these deaths are attributable to coronary heart disease, most of the remainder to stroke. Across Europe, there is an East-West gradient, with higher mortality rates in central and Eastern Europe than in Western Europe. The differential between the highest and lowest mortality approaches a factor of 5. There are also higher rates of coronary heart disease, but not stroke, in Northern Europe than in the South, and the variation between North and South is approximately 2.5.
