Heart Disease: A Global Problem

Cardiovascular disease tied to one-third of deaths around the world

(RxWiki News) Around a third of deaths around the world are the result of heart disease, according to a new study.

This study, which looked at every country in the world, monitored deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) between 1990 and 2015. The study authors found that CVD was a health burden in most places.

"Trends in CVD mortality are no longer declining for high-income regions and low- and middle-income countries are also seeing more CVD-related deaths," said study author Dr. Gregory Roth, of the University of Washington, in a press release.

The authors of this study pointed out that the death rate from CVD dropped globally between 1990 and 2010. Between 2010 and 2015, however, that improvement slowed down.

These findings spurred the study authors to call for innovation.

"Governments, advocacy groups, clinicians, and communities should look to this new evidence when developing programs and policies that could reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and save more lives," said study co-author Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, in a press release.

Talk to your health care provider about how to protect and improve your heart health.

This study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Information on study funding sources and potential conflicts of interest was not available at the time of publication.

Review Date: 
May 31, 2017