Deaths from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the leading cause of deaths worldwide, jumped 60% globally from 12.1 million in 1990 to 20.5 million in 2021, according to a new report by the World Heart Federation.
The world will struggle to meet the ambitious targets it has set to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular ailments by 25% compared to 2010 by 2025, the report said.
NCDs are also a rising public health concern in India, with recent government data showing the proportion of deaths due to NCDs in the country has risen to at least 63%.
“It is a concern that CVD is increasing, but a bigger concern in India is that people get heart ailments at a younger age in this part of the world. Diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption are all risk factors,” said Dr VK Bahl, former head, cardiology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
The four major NCDs are CVDs, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.
{{/usCountry}}The four major NCDs are CVDs, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.
{{/usCountry}}“This report confirms the serious threat that cardiovascular disease poses all over the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Up to 80% of premature heart attacks and strokes can be prevented. It’s vital that countries prioritise rolling out tools and policies to protect people from CVD,” Fausto Pinto, co-author of the report and former WHF president, said in a statement.
The report highlighted that high blood pressure, air pollution, tobacco use, and elevated LDL cholesterol were among the leading contributors to CVD deaths.
Experts in the report recommend increase in health spending as a countermeasure.
Countries that spend more on health care as a percentage of GDP on average have lower CVD death rates, they said. In South Asia, the percentage of GDP allocated for health expenditure is 2.6% in Bangladesh, 3.6% in Bhutan, 2.9% in India, 4.4% in Nepal and 2.8% in Pakistan, the report said.
Many across civil society have long called for countries to invest a minimum of 5% of their GDP in health care to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure and improve service coverage in pursuit of universal health coverage.
“Investing in health care saves lives. This evidence is indisputable. In line with WHO recommendations, countries must invest at least 5% of their GDP to help bring down CVD death rates and morbidity,” said Mariachiara Di Cesare of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing at the University of Essex, which compiled and analysed the data in collaboration with the WHF.
The report includes five recommendations to get progress on CVD health back on track. These recommendations cover implementing all key policies to combat CVD, ensuring CVD health interventions are adequately funded, and continuing efforts to improve data on CVDs and their risk factors, particularly in low and middle income countries.
“The report´s recommendations make clear that the opportunity is still there to accelerate action toward the goal of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030,” said Pinto.