More Nigerians dying of hypertension, stroke - FG

The Federal Government on Friday lamented the rising number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, heart failure, cardiac arrest, stroke, and others in the country.

The government noted that the morbidity and mortality due to CVDs in the country were underestimated because of inadequate awareness, limited screening, and poor data repository.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, who made this known during the commemoration of this year’s World Heart Day with the theme: ‘Use Heart, Know Heart’, also unveiled the Cardiac Emergency Response Box, otherwise known as Automated External Defibrillators, to respond to heart emergencies such as cardiac arrest.

Pate, who was represented by the Minister of State for Health, Tunji Alausa, disclosed that the AEDs would be deployed at appropriate designated high-population areas such as airports.

He said statistics from the World Health Organisation showed that cardiovascular diseases were the leading non-communicable diseases and the foremost cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year.

“Of these cardiovascular deaths, 85 per cent are due to heart attack and stroke, and over three-quarters occur in low- and middle-income countries.

“The 2018 WHO non-communicable diseases country profiles show that NCDs accounted for 29 per cent of all deaths in Nigeria with CVDs responsible for 11 per cent of all the NCD deaths.

“The country profile also shows that the risk of dying prematurely from NCDs in Nigeria is 22 per cent. Premature mortality in this instance is defined as death occurring between ages 30 and 70 years from any of the common NCDs,” he noted.