Bulgaria leads the EU in cardiovascular disease mortality rates

Cardiovascular diseases—including heart attacks, heart and hypertensive diseases, as well as pulmonary circulation diseases—caused 32.4% of all deaths in the European Union in 2022, according to Eurostat data.
Diseases of the circulatory system are the leading cause of death in 78.5% (186 out of 237) of NUTS level 2 regions. In 18 EU regions, they accounted for at least half of all deaths.
The highest values were reported in Bulgaria and Romania, where cardiovascular diseases were responsible for over 50% of deaths in every region. Bulgaria’s South-Central region recorded the highest share at 66.2%, followed by South-West Oltenia in Romania (65.1%).
Outside of these two countries, regions with similar levels are also found in Lithuania, Latvia (a single NUTS 2 region), and Dél-Alföld in Hungary, Eurostat specifies.