September 29, 2015 – An estimated 17.3 million people die of cardiovascular diseases every year. That makes it the number one cause of death in the world today, with 80% of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Ischemic heart disease (e.g. heart attacks) is responsible for 7.3 million of total CVD deaths and cerebrovascular disease (e.g. strokes) for a further 6.2 million.

The big causes of cardiovascular disease

The …