Facts & Figures

Based on the 2016 WHO report on the major causes of death, the top two killers in the world are 'Ischemic Heart Diseases (IHD) and stroke'. In other words, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2016, representing 31% of all global deaths². Of these deaths, 85% are due to heart attack and stroke¹. Hypertension is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, being responsible for at least 45% of deaths due to heart diseases. The WHO estimates that by 2030, the death toll due to cardiovascular diseases will rise to around 24 million³.


Hypertension: A major risk factor

About 1.13 Billion people in the world suffer from hypertension. Fewer than 1 in 5 patients with hypertension have the problem under control. Hypertension is quite often referred to as 'silent killer' as most of the people suffering from this condition are unaware of the same since there may not be warning signs or symptoms associated to it always. Hypertension is a major cause of premature death worldwide. Uncontrolled hypertension is a risk factor as well as a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and they include³:

Coronary heart disease: disease of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle;

Cerebrovascular disease: disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain;

Peripheral arterial disease: disease of blood vessels supplying the arms and legs;

Rheumatic heart disease: damage to the heart muscle and heart valves from rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria;

Congenital heart disease: malformations of heart structure existing at birth;

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: blood clots in the leg veins, which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.

Heart attacks and strokes are usually acute events and are mainly caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to
the heart or brain. The cause of heart attacks and strokes are usually the
presence of a combination of risk factors, such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet
and obesity, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol, hypertension,
diabetes and hyperlipidemia.

An unhealthy lifestyle increases the chance of developing cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases will remain a serious health problem in the years to come. Merck isaiming to help reducing their impact.

 

 

[1]   WHO. Factsheet Cardiovascular Diseases. Available from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/. Last access March 2019.

[2]    WHO. Cardiovascular disease. Available from: http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/en/. Last access March 2020.

[3]    WHO. Cardiovascular disease. About cardiovascular diseases. Available from: http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/about_cvd/en/. Last access May 2019. 

[4]    WHO. Cardiovascular disease. Hypertension. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension. Last access March 2020.