Heart Diseases: In the South, Less Treatment and More Years of Life Lost

In Italy, mortality from cardiovascular disease has decreased over the past twenty years, but the improvement has not affected all areas of the country equally. The South is behind in terms of hospitalizations and prevention, and residents are often forced to travel for treatment. As a result, in the South, more years of life are lost due to cardiovascular disease. This is highlighted in the second report of the working group on equity and health in the Regions of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS).

The rate of hospitalization for heart attacks has dropped by 20% in men (from 270 to 208 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and by 34% in women. But in 2023 the Southern Regions recorded the highest values: 223 in men and 78 in women, against lower values ​​in the Center and North. For strokes, in recent years, the highest rates are observed in Liguria, Bolzano and Umbria.

On the health mobility front, for coronary artery bypass surgery the North has a stable rate of 6%, while in the South the thresholds of 25% are exceeded and Calabria is the black sheep with a peak of 29.5% in 2023. For heart valve surgery, the South reached a peak of 27% of 'health flight', with a decline only after the pandemic.

As for mortality, it dropped from 904 to 266 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants between 1980 and 2021. But if the North records values ​​below the national average, in the South we still observe higher rates. Diseases of the circulatory system in terms of years of life lost contribute to 20% in men and 16% in women. But they weigh more in the South.

Finally, lifestyles are a cause for concern: sedentary lifestyles are increasing (from 23% to 28%) and obesity (10% obese, 33% overweight), with worse behaviors in the Southern Regions.