Are 570 000 deaths per year in the EU avoidable?

In the European Union (EU), 1.7 million persons aged less than 75 died in 2015. Of those, more than 570 000 (or 33.1% of total deaths) could be considered as untimely. In other words, 1 death out of 3 in the EU could have been avoided in the light of medical knowledge and technology. Heart disease main category Heart attacks (more than 180 500 avoidable deaths or 32% of total avoidable deaths of persons aged less than 75) accounted by far for the largest share of potentially avoidable deaths in the EU. They were followed by strokes (more than 89 600 deaths, or 16%), colorectal cancers (more than 66 800 or 12%), breast cancers (around 49 900…