Cardiovascular diseases are Europe's leading cause of death, causing 1.7M deaths annually

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in Europe, claiming 1.7 million lives annually, the head of the Therapeutics Area Department at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday.

In a press briefing on human medicines in 2025, Francesca Day highlighted that these diseases also contribute significantly to disability, early retirement, and absenteeism, reducing both quality of life and life expectancy.

"Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in Europe, with 1.7 million lives lost every year," she said.

She noted that risk factors are rising across the continent, with 54% of adults overweight, one in three young people overweight or obese, and 25% of the population affected by hypertension.

Regarding cardiometabolic diseases, Day said the EMA focuses on medicines that prevent and treat heart disease, as well as therapies for related conditions such as diabetes and obesity, adding that an estimated 2.2 million people in the EU live with type 1 diabetes.

She also emphasized that public interest in GLP-1 receptor agonists remains high, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and manage obesity by lowering blood sugar and curbing appetite.

"These medicines are not lifestyle shortcuts. They are long term treatments and they require medical supervision. Misuse and overuse of these medicines are real concerns," she warned.

In 2025, EMA recommended 104 new medicines for marketing authorization, including 38 with a new active substance never before approved in the EU.

Among rare disease treatments, EMA endorsed the first medicine for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare inherited immune disorder, and a disease-modifying gene therapy for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a condition causing extremely fragile skin.