Aggressive strategies are needed to achieve targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the risk of premature non-communicable disease death by 25 percent by 2025. Notably, focusing on four main risk factors – high blood pressure, smoking, obesity and diabetes mellitus – may help meet this goal, according to a study published May 9 in Circulation. The authors of the study – comprised of members of the Global Cardiovascular Disease Taskforce – looked at data from the 2013 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, which creates estimates of death and disability over time by sex and age for all countries. Using the GBD data, they estimated that in 2025, assuming that trends in the selected risk factors continue, 5,009,492 premature deaths from cardiovascular disease among men and 2,769,945 among women will occur. “Our study highlights the tremendous opportunities we have in reducing premature cardiovascular mortality worldwide,” says William A. Zoghbi, MD, MACC, a co-author of the study, past president of the ACC and co-chair of the Global Task Force on Cardiovascular Disease. “While risk factors are overall similar globally, the particular needs, opportunities and impact on outcome vary depending on which region of the world you live in.” Read more on ACC.org.