Letters to Editor: Risk factors among coronary heart disease patients in the context of the Albanian paradox

Several years ago, the finding that the adult life expectancy in Albania was high, despite the fact that this is a poor country and would thus be expected to have high mortality rates, began to be referred to as the “Albanian paradox”. Moreover, it has been reported that infant mortality, as indicator of poverty is also high, yet according to WHO, the age-standardized coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in Albania is very similar to that in Italy; it is less than half of that in the United Kingdom and is much lower than that in Central and other Eastern European countries (1, 2). Few studies have been performed on CHD risk factors in Albania (3).