38.1% Of Deaths In Nigeria Are Caused By Cardiovascular Diseases – WHO

The Director/National Coordinator of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Nnenna Ezeigwe, has stated that cardiovascular disease is responsible for 11% of over 2 million non-communicable disease’ deaths in Nigeria annually.

According to her non-communicable disease places economic burden on families and the country, in general, this is as a result of the cost of high treatment.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally, most deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases are as a result of heart attacks and strokes, and one out three cardiovascular death can be traced to people under 70 years of age.

Cardiovascular diseases are caused by disorders of the heart and blood vessels. The World Health Organization 2018 report on non-communicable diseases reveals that 29% of deaths in Nigeria are caused by non-communicable diseases, while cardiovascular diseases caused 11% of mortality.

However subject to the World Health Organization’ report released in 2020, Nigeria reportecly has prevalence of 38.1% of hypertension cases and 26.1% of stroke.

WHO stated that attention should be given to diet and exercise as they play an important role in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Also, access to essential noncommunicable disease medicines and basic health technologies in all primary health care facilities is essential to ensure that those in need receive treatment and counseling.

In view of this WHO Nigeria with funding from Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is implementing a National Hypertension Control Initiative to aid the strengthening ofhypertension management.

WHO is also Collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and funding from RTSL and other partners to conduct STEPs survey to provide a national estimate of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors.