In 2017, 23,504 people died of heart diseases in Croatia, which is 44% of all people who died that year. Heart diseases are a leading cause of mortality and World Heart Day provides an opportunity for experts to call on members of the public to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Croatians die of heart diseases earlier than people in developed countries do.
The head of the Croatian Cardiac Society, Davor Milicic, said that women were more affected by heart diseases (55%) than men, but that owing to protection by reproductive hormones they die ten years later than men on average.
The problem with heart diseases in Croatia is that people die of them at an earlier age than expected, namely in their middle age. In developed countries, where the prevention of cardiovascular diseases is usual, people die of heart-related diseases late in their life.
Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) head Krunoslav Capak said that the purpose of World Heart Day is to raise awareness that cardiovascular diseases are preventable and that with small corrections of lifestyle a lot can be achieved.
In the period between 2000 and 2016, a significant drop in mortality was reported, which is a good indicator, however, risk factors are still rather frequent - unhealthy diet, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and inactivity, he said.