Risk of heart and vascular disease among Flemings drops by 25% in ten years

The most recently published mortality figures in Flanders of 58 006 for 2010, presented by Welfare Minister Jo Vandeurzen CD&V, indicate that 28 969 of these were female and 29 037 were male. “This shows an increase from the previous year, but this is due to the ageing population,” says Vandeurzen, adding that “The risk of an earlier death has dropped”. The chance of dying from heart or vascular disease has been reduced by 25% during the past ten years; a phenomenon that has not gone unnoticed by cardiologists. “A decreasing number of people are dying from heart and vascular disease,” confirms Christiaan Vrints, head of the department of cardiology at the University Hospital in Antwerp. “In two thirds of the cases this is due to improved lifestyle,” says Vrints, who believes that health prevention measures are having positive results. “In the short term the ban on smoking in public spaces has been an enormous step forward, leading to a spectacular drop in heart attacks. I cannot comprehend that the ban continues to be met with negativity. Foreign studies have all shown that it works.” A healthy eating pattern and sport undoubtedly play a role and Vrints refers to the positive effect of a mind shift, with many people taking up jogging, sports club membership increasing and a massive increase in the sale of diet books. Despite an increase in negative reports about obesity in the West, Vrint remains cautiously optimistic.
Statistics about suicide are however less positive, as it remains the major cause of death among men in the age group 25 to 50 and women between 15 and 40. In 2010, 772 men and 294 women committed suicide; a negligible drop compared to the previous year’s increase. In Flanders the figures are still 50% higher than the European average, with only eight countries in Europe scoring higher for men and only two – Lithuania and Hungary – reflecting a higher rate for women. On the upside one can report that Flemings have extended their longevity. In 2010 the life expectancy of a newly born baby girl stood at 83.4 years and at 78.6 years for a boy compared to 81.9 and 76.1 respectively in 2001.