5.54 lakh people die of heart diseases annually: MoS

Hyderabad, Nov 4 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi today said as many as 5.54 lakh people died of heart diseases every year in the country and emphasised the need to disseminate knowledge to prevent lifestyle diseases.

Participating at the Heart Failure Society of India's (HFSI) first annual conference organised by Global hospitals here, Ms Lakshmi said heart failures were occurring because the availability of knowledge had not percolated to the primary care doctors, patients and specialists.

Urging the HFSI to take lead on various aspects of heart failures like epidemiology, treatment and prevention, the Minister said the time had come for the government and the medical fraternity to work together in promoting awareness among the people so that ailments like heart diseases, diabetes and cerebral stroke could be prevented through lifestyle changes and medication.

Appealing to the medical community to devote a part of their time, money and effort to address the health concerns of the poor, Ms Lakshmi said the government was striving to reach health care to all with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) programme.

According to World Health Organisation estimates, India had approximately 32 million people with diabetes with the number projected to touch 57.2 million in 2025, she said, adding knowledge and awareness on lifestyle diseases were of immense value in their prevention.

UNI