The present danger to Vietnamese people's health

In Vietnam, each year about 200,000 people die from cardiovascular disease, accounting for 33% of deaths, a higher rate than cancer, COPD and diabetes combined.

Bệnh tim mạch: Mối nguy hại hiện hữu của người Việt

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Vietnam.

On September 16, the Vietnam Cardiology Association in collaboration with the Vietnam Heart Health Fund, Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee, and Thai Binh Department of Health organized a rally to respond to World Heart Day 2023 (September 29) with the theme: "Understanding your Heart with all your Heart". The event aims to raise awareness of the community and society about cardiovascular risk factors as well as encourage people to improve their cardiovascular health through physical activities.

Alarming numbers

Speaking at the program, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Manh Hung - Director of the National Heart Institute, Director of the Vietnam Heart Health Fund said that according to 2021 data, Covid-19 is only the third leading cause of death, while the leading cause of death is still cardiovascular disease. Another worrying fact is that the mortality rate from cardiovascular disease is increasing in low- and lower-middle-income countries (accounting for up to 75%).

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Manh Hung - Director of the National Heart Institute informs about cardiovascular diseases.

According to health experts, in the years 2020 - 2022 we will experience the Covid-19 pandemic with many heavy losses and serious consequences for human health, economy , and social security. Through this pandemic, it is even more clear that the disease model has begun to change in a complex way.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Manh Hung, there is another "great pandemic" that has existed and is growing strongly, which is non-communicable diseases, including diseases such as diabetes, cancer, mental illness... and especially cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases have become the leading cause of death and disability.

In Vietnam, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health , each year about 200,000 people die from cardiovascular disease, accounting for 33% of deaths. According to statistics from the Vietnam Heart Institute from 2000 to 2015, the rate of high blood pressure in adults increased by about 1% each year and reached 25%, so one in four adults has high blood pressure.

High blood pressure increases the risk of death from stroke by 4 times and increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 3 times compared to people without the disease.

Cardiovascular disease is getting younger and younger

According to experts, we still think that cardiovascular disease is often thought to only occur in the elderly. However, in reality, the frequency of the disease in young and middle-aged people is higher, cardiovascular disease can happen to anyone and any age and the age of new cases is also getting younger.

"Young people think they are not at risk of getting sick, so they are often subjective and do not take appropriate preventive measures. This is a huge burden for patients, their families and the whole society. Anyone can get cardiovascular disease, the number of people infected and dying increases, along with the burden of disease and increased costs... if we do not take proactive measures to prevent it" - Director Pham Manh Hung noted.

Cardiovascular diseases are mainly related to risk factors including family factors, race, high blood pressure, lipid disorders, diabetes... but especially risk factors related to lifestyle (lack of exercise, harmful habits, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet), environmental pollution, stress and lack of knowledge or subjectivity in disease prevention and treatment.

According to experts from the Vietnam Heart Institute, experience from developed countries as well as scientific achievements show that most cardiovascular diseases can be proactively prevented and cured. With seemingly simple actions such as propaganda, instructing people not to smoke, eat less salt, not eat too much animal fat, limit alcohol consumption, exercise every day... can help us avoid at least 80% of premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases. In 2012, world leaders pledged at the United Nations to reduce the global mortality rate from non-communicable diseases by about 25% by 2025.