German Heart Report Heart disease is on the rise - but the mortality rates

New report on Germany's cause of death number 1

The German Heart Report documents current trends and trends on the subject of heart disease. Furthermore, cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of death in Germany. More than 37 percent of all deaths in Germany are due to cardiovascular diseases. According to the report, fewer people are dying from heart disease today than they were just a few years ago, but the number of illnesses is steadily increasing.

The German Society for Cardiology - Cardiovascular Research (DGK) recently presented the latest German Heart Report. According to the DGK, heart diseases such as heart failure, valvular heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias have increased in recent years. Improved treatment options, however, led to a decrease in the mortality rate. A turnaround is not expected in the coming years due to the aging population.

The German Heart Report shows current statistics, trends and turns in the field of heart disease. (Image: Sonja Calovini / fotolia.com)

Heart disease overview

According to the report, heart valve diseases in particular have increased. Here, an increase of 5.8 percent was recorded. Cardiac arrhythmia increased by 3 percent and heart failure by 3.7 percent. "These are also the diseases that become more common with age," explains DGK President Professor Dr. med. Hugo A. Katus in a press release on the new Heart Report.

Better therapies lead to more chronic diseases

"Increasing life expectancy, which for the most part is attributable to improved treatment options in cardiac patients, also means that more and more patients with chronic heart disease need treatment," explains the cardiologist. As an example, the professor mentions heart valve diseases. The heart valves are burdened throughout life, with increasing formation of deposits and calcifications. The longer a person lives, the more the function of the valve is impaired. In the end, only help the heart valve replacement, so Katus.

Great success in heart failure treatment

Despite increasing cases of illness, the DGK specialists have achieved great success in the treatment of heart failure. According to the heart report, the death rate of heart failure patients was reduced by around 11 percent. "Firstly, we have made significant progress in treatment options in both the drug and interventional and technological fields," says Professor Katus. On the other hand, the awareness in the medical profession has improved to provide appropriate and modern therapy options, such as the so-called "Heart Failure Units"..

Less heart attacks - but constant death rate

As the DGK reports, the events that are due to circulatory disorders in the heart, including the heart attack, reduced by 2.2 percent. However, the probability of dying from a heart attack has remained unchanged in recent years. "We therefore need to develop new alternative therapeutic approaches to further reduce the mortality rate in heart attacks," says the expert.

More heart diseases in the new federal states

The report also shows that the number of heart diseases in the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is relatively higher. This is attributable to the fact that the proportion of people over the age of 65 is above average in these federal states. (Vb)