About cardiovascular diseases
Definition
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the name for the group of disorders of heart and blood vessels, and include:
- hypertension (high blood pressure)
- coronary heart disease (heart attack)
- cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
- peripheral vascular disease
- heart failure
- rheumatic heart disease
- congenital heart disease
- cardiomyopathies.
Key facts
- CVDs are the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause.
- An estimated 17.3 million people died from CVDs in 2008, representing 30% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, an estimated 7.3 million were due to coronary heart disease and 6.2 million were due to stroke.
- Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionally affected: over 80% of CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries and occur almost equally in men and women.
- By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke. These are projected to remain the single leading causes of death.