Angioplasty surgeries rise in majority of EU countries

Cardiovascular diseases, which affect the circulatory system of the heart and blood vessels, are the main cause of death in the EU. In 2020, diseases of the circulatory system were responsible for 1.7 million deaths, equivalent to 32.7% of all deaths in the EU.

One of the most common treatment procedures related to cardiovascular diseases is transluminal coronary angioplasty, a non-surgical and minimally invasive procedure used to treat blocked or narrowed coronary arteries (the main blood vessels supplying the heart). 

In 2021, there were 1.1 million transluminal coronary angioplasty procedures in 25 EU countries for which data are available. Croatia reported the highest ratio of angioplasty procedures that year, with 553 procedures per 100 000 inhabitants. Germany ranked second, with 390, followed by Latvia (328), Austria (324) and Bulgaria (303).

This procedure was least common in Portugal, where it was conducted 100 times per 100 000 inhabitants. Relatively low ratios were also recorded in Luxembourg (113), Romania (115), Spain (124) and Ireland (154).

In all EU countries, angioplasties were more frequently used to treat cardiovascular diseases than bypass surgeries, with 24 EU countries with available data averaging 204 more angioplasties than bypasses. Slovakia doesn’t have data available for angioplasties but still performed fewer bypasses in 2021 than in 2016: 36 per 100 000 people vs 55, respectively. 

Source dataset: hlth_co_proc3

Almost two-thirds (16) of the 25 EU countries, for which data are available, reported an increase in the ratio of angioplasty procedures between 2016 and 2021. Croatia registered the highest increase in 2021 compared with 2016, with 199 more procedures per 100 000 people (total of 354 procedures). Cyprus and Bulgaria also saw a substantial increase, with +130 and +112 procedures in 2021 (266 and 304).

Conversely, almost a third of the EU countries reported a decrease in angioplasty procedures. Luxembourg registered the largest decrease (-31) between 2016 and 2021 (113), followed by Hungary (-29) and Denmark (-28).