Cardiovascular disease: Leading cause of death in Germany

Wiesbaden (dapd) - Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death in Germany. According to reports by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Thursday, 40.2 percent of all deaths last year were due to diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Of the approximately 342,000 deaths, 145,500 were men and 196,600 women. The statistics show that 92 percent of them were at least 65 years old at the time of death, meaning that cardiovascular diseases often lead to death, especially in older people.

The second most common cause of death was reported to be cancer with 221,500 people having succumbed to cancer. Of all reported deaths 3.9 percent were attributed to non-natural causes such as injury or poisoning. 10,100 people committed suicide, with statistics showing that of these, 75 percent were men and 25 percent women.
The number of deaths this year were reported to have fallen by about 0.7 percent, in comparison to last year's 852,300.