About a fifth of deaths from cardiovascular disease in Europe could be prevented by mitigating environmental risks such as air pollution. This was stated on Monday by the EU Environment Agency, according to TASR, according to the AFP agency.
Addressing extreme temperature changes, exposure to toxic chemicals, pollution and other factors is key to preventionhighlights a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). These are factors estimated to be directly related to at least 18 percent of the more than 1.7 million deaths from cardiovascular disease in Europe in 2022. About 130,000 people die each year from fine particulate air pollution, and 115,000 deaths a year are related to extreme cold or heatthe report says.
Such deaths could be prevented by increasing public awareness of environmental stressors, reducing traffic noise and strengthening chemical regulationsthe EEA said.
According to the organization, the European Union is well on its way to achieving one of its goals of zero pollution by 2030as it has reduced air pollution-related deaths by 55 percent since 2005. Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in the EU. At least six million new cases are diagnosed every year, costing the Union almost €282 billion, added the EEA.
