Germany

The future of heart health after the collapse of the German government

The collapse of Germany’s government coalition has cast doubt on the future of the “Healthy Heart Law.” This legislation was... View Article

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First draft of Germany’s Healthy Heart Law has been published

After a long wait, the draft bill for the Healthy Heart Act was finally published by the Federal Ministry of... View Article

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS OF THE GERMAN ‘HEALTHY HEART LAW’ PRESENTD BY MINISTER LAUTERBACH

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death in Germany. Federal Health Minister Lauterbach has also recognised this and... View Article

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Photo: Dr. Mohammad Sherif, Dr. Karl Lauterbach, Prof. Dr. Ralph Stephan von Bardeleben, Prof. Dr. Roland Hardt

Advancing Heart Health: SHD Coalition pushes for early detection and treatments in meeting with German Health Minister Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach

Thanks to the excellent work of the EU SHD Coalition members, the coalition was able to celebrate a great success:... View Article

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Start of a legislative process on early detection of CVDs and SHDs in Germany

For a considerable time period in German politics, the significance of early detection of cardiovascular diseases and, particularly, structural heart... View Article

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Opportunities for strengthening Early Detection of SHDs in Germany

On 22 June the SHD Coalition organised an event National prevention Plan: Opportunities for strengthening Early Detection of SHDs in... View Article

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New National Heart Alliance to launch new projects for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are still by far the most frequent cause of death (34.3 %) in Germany. This is well... View Article

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Time to act: How early detection of valvular heart disease can combat the most common cause of death in Germany.

On 15 December 2022, the EU SHD Coalition organized a press conference with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of early detection of structural heart disease, SHD, such as valvular heart disease in Germany. The various discussions emphasized the importance of early detection, as cardiovascular diseases are still the most common cause of death in Germany with about 340,000 deaths per year.

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Call for Action on early detection of cardiovascular diseases in Germany

Improving the early detection of cardiovascular and structural heart disease in Germany : 5 proposals from German experts roundtable

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German Ministry support prioritizing of heart diseases

Last year, a letter on the European Joint Action to support the fight against Structural Heart Diseases (SHD) in Germany and the EU was sent to the German Ministry of Health.

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German Ministry support prioritizing of heart diseases

Estimated number of people with SHD in Germany

Percentages of population in Germany3

Key facts related to SHD in Germany

Germany spent 338,2 billion € on public healthcare in 20154.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represented 13,7% of the total public healthcare budget in 20155.
CVD (including SHD) cost the German Economy 46,4 billion € in 20156.

Key messages

  • Germany has the third oldest population in the world after Monaco and Japan.7
  • In 2016, 52,120 people above the age of 75 were hospitalized for a heart valve disease only. This is an increase by 184.8 % since 1995.8
  • Demographic change is a reality in Germany and SHDs as a major economic burden of disease in senior citizens must be prioritized in Germany.
  • In order to alleviate the effects of demographic change, timely diagnosis of SHDs and the use of high-quality and risk adapted methods are key to ensure that senior patients remain healthy and autonomous and can recover fully after procedures.

References

  1. National Institute of Statistics (2017) Population Development until 2060: Results of the 13th Coordinated Population Projection; Updated Calculation based on 2015, www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/Bevoelkerung/VorausberechnungBevoelkerung/ BevoelkerungBundeslaender2060_Aktualisiert_5124207179004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile [retrieved: 19/July/2018]
  2. J. d’Arcy et al. (2016) Large-scale community echocardiographic screening reveals a major burden of undiagnosed valvular heart disease in older people: the OxVALVE Population Cohort Study www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27354049 [retrieved on: 25/July/2018]
  3. J. d’Arcy et al. (2016) Large-scale community echocardiographic screening reveals a major burden of undiagnosed valvular heart disease in older people: the OxVALVE Population Cohort Study www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27354049 [retrieved on: 25/July/2018]
  4. National Institute of Statistics (2017) Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen verursachen die höchsten Kosten, www.destatis.de/DE/PresseService/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2017/09/PD17_347_236.html [retrieved: 19/July/2018]
  5. National Institute of Statistics (2017) Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen verursachen die höchsten Kosten, www.destatis.de/DE/PresseService/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2017/09/PD17_347_236.html [retrieved: 19/July/2018]
  6. National Institute of Statistics (2017) Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen verursachen die höchsten Kosten, www.destatis.de/DE/PresseService/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2017/09/PD17_347_236.html [retrieved: 19/July/2018]
  7. Central Intelligence Agency (2017) The World Factbook, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2177rank.html [retrieved: 19/July/2018]
  8. German Heart Foundation (2017) German Heart Report [retrieved: 19/July/2018]

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