Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in Moldova, mortality from them during the last ten years being almost twice higher than the European average, representing about 55-58% of the total mortality. The death rate from heart disease among people of working age was 27% in 2015, as opposed to 26.5% in 2011, IPN reports.

According to the Ministry of Health, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Europe as well, both among women and men, being the cause of almost half of all the deaths. These diseases claim about 17 million deaths worldwide each year. Approximately 7.3 million people die from myocardial infarction, while 6.2 million from stroke. Thus, international statistics place cardiovascular diseases as the top cause of death.

The National Public Health Center said the incidence of heart disease in Moldova increases. In 2014, there were recorded 22,850 cases of cardiovascular diseases, while in 2015 the figure rose by 0.82% to 23,037. Thus, the death rate rose from 642.5 deaths per 100,000 people to 648.2.

The World Health Organization enumerated several simple steps for improving heart health such as a healthy diet, reduction in alcohol intake, giving up smoking, and regular physical activity.

Starting with 2000, on the initiative of the World Heart Federation and under the aegis of the WHO, World Heart Day has been annually celebrated on September 29, 2016. The theme this year is “Power your life”.