Global Burden of CVD

Abstract

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are a global threat to health and sustainable development. CVDs contribute to a major part of the overall disease burden with ischemic heart disease and stroke as the primary contributors of global mortality. Although, incident cancers have replaced CVDs as the most prevalent disease condition in high-income countries, CVDs are still the foremost cause of mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries. Social determinants of health and behavioral risk factors such as tobacco, age, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, high cholesterol, obesity, and alcohol use are the factors behind this continuously growing epidemic. Economically, CVDs also causes an indirect and/or direct burden on the individual as well as the community. The global health policy agenda has finally started recognizing CVDs and reducing CVD mortality is one of the key indicators of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Mostly preventable with the elimination of its risk factors, developing a stronger evidence and implementing interventions (fiscal and intersectoral, health system, community-based and public health interventions) hold the key to lower the CVD burden and improve cardiovascular health globally.