Malta has ranked tenth from bottom in a ranking of European countries' heart care.

The 2016 Euro Heart Index (EHI), published today in Brussels, placed Malta in 20th place from 30 countries.

The study is carried out by Health Consumer Powerhouse Ltd and measures 31 indicators spanning prevention, procedures, access to care and outcomes related to heart care. 

France topped the list, closely followed by Norway and Sweden.

EHI director Beatriz Cebolla said that in heart care, Malta shared a problematic lifestyle pattern with many European countries.

Malta, she said, stood out for a life-threatening combination of obesity in all segments of the population and - possibly for that reason - a high prevalence of diabetes.

“There is also a lack of efficient and coordinated structure of heart care. Together, these factors cause high levels of heart-related mortality. Yet we do not have the full picture as many heart care data are missing, which is strange, given that small Malta has only one major hospital. Reporting should not be that complicated," Dr Cebolla added.

HCP chairman Arne Björnberg said that there was a significant gap between European guidelines on how to treat patients, and how cardiac care was performed.

“The deployment of basic, inexpensive heart medicines seems haphazard, hardly reflecting the needs of Europeans. More systematic use of therapies such as statins and clopidogrel would save thousands of lives.

“Evidently, there is a connection between high spending and good outcomes. Affluent countries can afford admitting patients into hospital care on weaker indications, which can prevent conditions from getting worse,” he said adding that a lot could also be achieved with small budgets - if the priorities were right.