CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN BANGLADESH

Cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent in Bangladesh, and are the single–most important contributor to death. Realizing this fact, both Government and private sectors are working hard to tackle the ‘epidemic’. Marked advancement has been made in the past few decades in management of cardiac diseases in the country. Keeping pace with world, modern diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are being adopted regularly. Besides these, State of Art pharmacological treatment, almost all sorts of interventional management are being rendered in the country. Except for the few complex operations, major cardiac and vascular surgeries are now possible in Bangladesh. Moreover the cardiac care facilities, once confined to the capital city only are now being decentralized throughout the country.In Bangladesh, the existing physician population ratio is 3.8/10,000, whereas in the USA and the UK, the values are 24.5/10,000, respectively. The recommended cardiologist population is 2.6-4.2/100,000 population by different authorities; in Bangladesh the ratio is approximately 0.27/100,000 in 2007, which is very much inadequate. The recommended coronary care unit bed population ratio is 4-5/100,000 population; in Bangladesh, the ratio is approximately 0.13/100,000 in 2007, which is again insufficient. However the number of skilled specialists, equipments and cardiovascular care institutions are increasing rapidly in Bangladesh. Hopefully, we shall attain global standard in near future.Non communicable diseases (NCD) have become the major cause of death in Bangladesh. 74% of deaths are due to NCD in 2014. 18% of this is due to cardiovascular diseases. NCDs account for 61% of total disease burden. The country has 40 million adult smokers and smokeless tobacco users. Overall prevalence of smoking is 26.2%. 18% adults have hypertension and 4% have diabetes mellitus