Brussels, 30/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - The fight against cancer, obesity, smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are all among the priorities for the European Union and its Member States. Within this context, the Stockholm Network studied one of the main factors in cardiovascular disease - cholesterol. In its report, Cholesterol: The public Implications of Not Doing Enough, the think tank sets alarm bells ringing: if nothing is done quickly to help prevent high cholesterol levels, European health systems could face a major crisis by 2020. According to the report, the cost of treating cardiovascular diseases linked to high cholesterol could rise by 63 billion euro per year in the EU. Currently the total cost for heart disease is of the order of 169 billion euro annually (105 billion for treatment and 64 billion in loss of productivity and nursing care).
Presenting the report, Professor Guy De Backer of the University Hospital Ghent pointed out that the European Cardiology Society had prepared guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and, following several studies, today we have exact models for risk assessment which will allow improvements in medical practice. While a healthier life style can contribute greatly to improved cardiovascular health, those taking part, like Professor Terje Pedersen of the Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, insisted on the value of statins, but the report also argues for treatments using a cholesterol absorption inhibitor. Available since January 2005, this new product, ezetimibe, was developed by Schering-Plough and is marketed by MSD, co-sponsors of the report. (http://www.stockholm-network.org )