Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in Cyprus, Minister of Health Neophytos Charalambides said on Thursday addressing on behalf of the President of the Republic, a conference on Cardiovascular Health in Nicosia, which was co-organized by the School of Medicine of the European University Cyprus, the Cyprus Atherosclerosis Society and the Office of the Citizens’ Commissioner.
“In Cyprus, cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death. Although they used to account for approximately 40% of deaths, today the percentage has decreased to 24%. A 87% of these involve people over 65 years of age,” the Minister said.
He stressed that a significant percentage of deaths related to cardiovascular diseases could be reduced through early prevention and said that adopting different lifestyles, such as quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, can help everyone.
Moreover, he referred to the recently announced EU “Safe Hearts Plan”, saying that it constitutes the Union’s commitment to a strengthened and cooperative action for the prevention, early diagnosis, monitoring and effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The Cyprus EU Presidency, he noted, welcomes this EU initiative and aligns its actions with the implementation of the Plan.
The Minister said that Cyprus’ National Strategy for the Management of Cardiovascular Diseases focuses on the creation of a comprehensive framework for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and research.
Concluding, he congratulated the organizers, the speakers and all those who contributed to the organization of the conference, which took place also under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU.