In 2019, over 18 million Malaysians were reported to be living with a heart attack waiting to happen.
Cardiovascular heart diseases are the leading cause of death in Malaysia. It makes up 15% of the 109,164 medically certified deaths in 2019[1].
What is a heart attack waiting to happen?
People with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and high cholesterol have an increased chance of getting heart disease. If these medical conditions are undiagnosed or not treated, cardiovascular diseases may develop over time.
In Malaysia, 1.7 million people currently live with all three major risk factors (diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol) and 3.4 million people have at least two of the said diseases[2].
A study by Khazanah Research Institute found that prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol level are the highest among the lower-income groups[3].
Seeing that heart disease is the leading cause of death in Malaysia, these health problems need to be properly and systematically addressed – from early detection and intervention to education awareness especially among the B40 group.
Explore Our Sources:
- Department of Statistics, M. (November 2020). Statistics on Causes of Death, Malaysia, 2020. Link.
- Institute for Public Health, M. of H. M. (2020). National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019: Non-communicable diseases, healthcare demand, and health literacy—Key Findings. Link.
- Khazanah Research Institute. (2020). Social Inequalities and Health In Malaysia – The State of Households 2020: Part III. Link.
