Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases, or diseases of the heart and blood vessels, arteries and veins, are responsible for cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure, myocardial infarction, heart failure and strokes. They are one of the main causes of death in Europe and represent the biggest cost to public health systems, with over 15 million people treated for cardiovascular disease.
Despite advances in prevention and treatment , the number of people suffering from cardiovascular disease continues to rise, particularly as the population ages. This increase is marked by major social and regional inequalities.
At the heart of the cardiovascular disease epidemic lies atherosclerosis, the phenomenon of accelerated ageing of the arteries, which become rigid, often with the formation of atheromatous plaques that can block them, the leading cause of myocardial infarction and stroke, and a factor that promotes hypertension. Atherosclerosis is favoured by metabolic diseases, a diet rich in animal fats, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and heredity.
A few figures
cause of death worldwide after cancer
million deaths worldwide
of all deaths worldwide
of the victims of these diseases are women
The ICAN Institute is one of Europe’s leading institutes for cardiovascular, metabolic and nutritional diseases. It brings together fundamental and medical research teams on the same site(Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière).
