CARDIOVASCULAR ILLNESSES accounted for around 1.5 billion euros of Portuguese government spending in 2006, according to a study from Oxford University in England.
This study also revealed that national costs relating to heart problems reached 151 euros per capita. This included costs of medicine, hospital stays and rehabilitation, among others.
The most recent data from the World Health Organisation also shows that around 40 per cent of adults in Portugal suffer from high blood pressure, which accounts for a high percentage of strokes.
