NEW DELHI: Indians are at greater risk of mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, the incidence of which is rising in the country, according to a study by Apollo Hospitals.
According to the study, the CVD death rate in India, at 272 per 1,00,000 population per year, is higher than the global average of 235 per 1,00,000. “CVDs impact Indians in their most productive years of mid-life, as compared to people with European ancestry. This impacts the rich and poor equally,” said Dr. (Prof.) NN Khanna, senior consultant, Interventional Cardiology and Vascular Interventions, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.
The study noted that the prevalence of Ischemic heart disease (IHD) in 1960 in urban India was 2 per cent, and it increased sevenfold to approximately 14 per cent by 2013. In rural areas, it more than quadrupled, from 1.7 per cent to 7.4 per cent between 1970 and 2013.
Dr Khanna noted that early onset of myocardial infarction or heart attack was increasing in the South Asian population. “The number of individuals with hypertension is expected to double from 118 million in 2000 to 213.5 million by 2025. In India, the average blood pressure has increased in the past two decades, whereas in most Western nations it has declined,” he said. Dr Khanna also noted that in the urban areas of India, the prevalence of diabetes had almost doubled in the past 20 years, from 9 per cent to 17 per cent.