More than half of the world's cardiovascular disease deaths occur in Asia!

Professor Zhao Dong from Beijing Anzhen Hospital published an article in JACC Asia sub-journal pointing out that the number of people dying from cardiovascular disease is increasing rapidly in Asia, and more than half of the world's deaths from cardiovascular disease occur in Asia.

Zhao Dong pointed out that this suggests that there is an urgent need to understand the burden and epidemiological characteristics of cardiovascular disease in Asian countries and regions, so as to formulate policies based on local conditions and take action to curb its prevalence.

Relevant data show that from 1990 to 2019, the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases in Asia increased from 5.6 million to 10.8 million.

Among them, 39% of cardiovascular disease deaths are premature deaths, that is, deaths under 70 years old, which is significantly higher than in the United States (23%).

Most cardiovascular deaths are due to ischemic heart disease or stroke.

The researchers said that the spread of cardiovascular disease in Asia is the result of a combination of demographic changes, socioeconomics, lifestyle, the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, and the ability to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease.

In addition, from 1990 to 2019, the proportion of cardiovascular disease deaths in total deaths in Asia increased from 23% to 35%.

In China, the major subtype of cardiovascular disease death has shifted from stroke to ischemic heart disease.

A previous Global Burden of Disease study suggested that China accounted for approximately 38.2% of the global increase in ischemic heart disease deaths between 1990 and 2017. Compared with other countries, China had the largest increase in deaths during this period.

In 2017, the number of deaths from coronary heart disease in China increased by 1.117 million compared with 1990, an increase of 184.1%.

The article introduces that most Asian countries are in the second stage of rapid increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

In countries like China, the mortality rate from cardiovascular disease is relatively high, with deaths from cardiovascular disease accounting for more than 40% of total deaths.

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease in high-income or developed countries is characterized by the third epidemiological stage.

The proportion of cardiovascular disease deaths in total deaths in Japan and South Korea is declining, from 34.9% and 36.2% in 1990 to 26.6% and 24.3% in 2019, respectively.

The article points out that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors such as unhealthy diet, smoking, dyslipidemia, diabetes and hypertension is an important driving force behind the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Asia.

Source: China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention