NEW DELHI: On the eve of World Heart Day, which is celebrated globally on September 29, WHO South-East Asia Region urged its member states to join the global call to raise awareness about heart health and accelerate actions to prevent, detect and manage cardiovascular diseases.
The region is home to a quarter of the world’s population, said WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh.
It is experiencing a very high burden of noncommunicable diseases, she said and added that cardiovascular diseases are responsible for 3.9 million or 30 per cent of all deaths annually.
“Alarmingly, almost half (48 per cent) of these cardiovascular disease-related deaths occurred prematurely, affecting individuals aged 30-70 years and imposing significant socioeconomic burdens on families, communities and countries,” Singh said.
The main causes to the burden of cardiovascular diseases include modifiable lifestyle factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity. Raised blood pressure and glucose levels are the
key drivers.