The development of radiovascular mortality in selected European countries

Abstract

The article compares the level and the development of cardiovascular mortality in selected european countries from 1968 to 2006. The development of cardiovascular mortality is viewed in connection with the changes of the overall mortality, mortality by other groups of causes of death, as well as mortality by age and sex. The changes of the mortality level and the proportion of the most frequent circulatory diseases are analyzed within the whole group of circulatory diseases. The article also includes cluster analysis based on selected mortality indicators. The analyses conclude that different development of the circulatory diseases mortality was the major cause of divergent trends in the overall mortality between the Western european countries and the post-communist countries. The level of cardiovascular mortality in the first group of countries decreased considerably during the observed period. On the contrary, the cardiovascular mortality in the post- communist countries was characterized by stagnation or even deterioration from the beginning of the studied period until approximately the early nineties. The post-communist countries underwent the decline of the circulatory diseases mortality during the nineties in accordance with the change of political and socioeconomic conditions.