Brussels, 06/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked its Department of Health and Children to take initiatives during the Irish Presidency of the EU Council, to tackle cardiovascular disease(CVD), Europe's single biggest killer. The Irish minister responsible for health and children, Micheál Martin T.D. has made this challenge a priority under Irish Presidency so that Member States reach an agreement to promote heart health.
Dr Shanthi Mendis (WHO), who coordinates the action, stressed that "despite being responsible for 5 million deaths in the European region and causing an estimated 16.6 million deaths worldwide, prevention and control of CVD are largely neglected in the majority of countries in the world". Dr Mendis pointed out that Ireland, which historically had one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the EU, has been able to reverse this trend by implementing programmes such as the Irish Health Department's Cardiovascular Health Strategy. Applauding the fact that the Irish Presidency makes heart health a priority, Dr Mendis added that "this provides an excellent platform for all EU Member States and Accession countries to share information and discuss indigenous policies that have yielded positive results". "It is proposed that an EU consensus be agreed that will provide guidelines for best practice and an EU-wide standard for the prevention and treatment of CVD", Dr Mendis continued, saying that the rate of CVD could be reduced by up to 50% by the year 2010. He told the Presidency he looked forward to the outcome of the cardiovascular conferences taking place in Cork (Ireland) in February and May 2004.