Data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2019, or in the Covid 19 pre pandemic period, show that Malaysians are having cardiovascular diseases significantly earlier than those in developed countries.

Medical experts say the mean age of Malaysian Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) patients are from 56 to 59, which is about 10 years younger than those in advanced countries, who exhibit CVDs between 63 and 68 years.

A senior consultant cardiologist noted that CVD related deaths will reach approximately 31,000 cases annually by 2025 if nothing is done to stress on prevention and cardiovascular care to Malaysians.

This means that in future CVD related deaths would form about 55 percent of all non communicable disease related deaths in the country and medical experts therefore seek the government’s intervention to create awareness of heart care.

Although there was the prevalence of Covid 19 in Malaysia in 2020, yet CVDs formed a substantial number of deaths with ischaemic heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases contributing 20.2 percent of total deaths in 2022.

Not only is this a cause for concern but CVDs also account for the largest share in costs for hospitalization (47.77 percent or RM1.01 billion) and medication (46 percent or RM792 million) compared to other NCDs.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE