The Heart Disease Europe Could Stop takes a deep dive into the cardiovascular crisis shaping lives across the European Union. Cardiovascular disease remains Europe’s leading cause of premature death, yet nearly 76 percent of cases are linked to modifiable risk factors, raising a difficult question: why is a largely preventable disease still killing so many?

In this episode, we unpack a major new report tracking the full patient journey, from prevention and early risk to emergency care and long-term survival. We explore how rising diabetes rates, hypertension, physical inactivity, poor diet, mental health, and emerging risks like vaping are reshaping Europe’s heart health landscape. The discussion also examines the growing evidence linking respiratory infections and vaccination to cardiovascular outcomes.

Beyond biology and lifestyle, this Deep Dive exposes the social and systemic forces driving unequal outcomes. Education level, income, gender, geography, and access to care all play a decisive role in who receives timely treatment and who falls through the cracks. We examine why women face delayed diagnosis, under-prescription of life-saving therapies, and longer waits for emergency care, and how socioeconomic inequality doubles cardiovascular mortality risk.

Finally, we look forward. From digital health tools and wearable technology to policy failures, data gaps, and workforce shortages, this episode asks whether Europe’s health systems are equipped to prevent the next wave of heart disease, and what changes beyond healthcare, including urban planning, transport, and environmental policy, are essential to protecting heart health.

A sobering, data-driven conversation about prevention, equity, and why Europe’s biggest killer does not have to be inevitable.