Cardiovascular diseases kill 10,000 Europeans a day: WHO

GENEVA

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 40 percent of deaths in Europe, the WHO said on Wednesday, urging Europeans to cut their salt intake.

That amounts to 10,000 deaths a day, or four million a year,

"Implementing targeted policies to reduce salt intake by 25 percent could save an estimated 900,000 lives from cardiovascular diseases by 2030," Hans Kluge, the director of the Europe branch of the World Health Organization said in a statement.

In Europe, one in three adults between the ages of 30 and 79 suffer from hypertension, often due to salt consumption.

Fifty-one of the 53 countries in the WHO's European region have an average daily salt intake above the WHO's recommended maximum of five grams, or one teaspoon, largely due to processed foods and snacks.

"High salt intake raises blood pressure, which is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes," the WHO said.

Europe has the highest blood pressure prevalence in the world, it said.

According to the WHO Europe report, men in the region are almost 2.5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases than women.

There is also a geographic divide: the probability of dying young (30-69 years) from cardiovascular disease is nearly five times as high in eastern Europe and central Asia compared to western Europe.