Health experts call for curbing rising rates of stroke, heart diseases

Health experts on Tuesday called for ramping up efforts in curbing the rising rates of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases in rural areas, driven by unhealthy lifestyles and lack of awareness.

Cardiovascular conditions, including stroke, coronary heart diseases and high blood pressure, affect about 330 million people in China. The diseases are also the No 1 killer in the country, accounting for two in every five deaths, said Zhang Yaqing, a professor at the Capital Medical University's Beijing Tiantan hospital.

In terms of the rates of awareness, treatment and effective disease control, rural regions have significantly lagged behind urban areas, underscoring the need to step up screening and early intervention in the countryside, she added.

Wang Wenzhi, president of the Chinese Stroke Association, said rural areas have emerged as the main battlefield for preventing and controlling cardiovascular diseases in recent years.

"While intensified promotion campaigns in cities and improvements in treatment have helped rein in the incidence and death rates of cardiovascular diseases among urban dwellers, such illnesses have become more prevalent among rural residents, due to lack of knowledge of the risk, as well as unhealthy diets, smoking and heavy drinking," he said.

As part of efforts to beef up prevention work in the countryside, the association launched the primary vascular care program in early 2019. The program focuses on providing training to grassroots clinics in controlling cardiovascular diseases and offering free screening and other medical services to rural residents.

The latest round of the program, called "Grassroots Healthcare Week," was initiated Tuesday, according to Wang Chen, a professor at the Beijing Tiantan Hospital and head of the program.

He said 85 experts from major hospitals across the country will visit rural clinics this week, and are expected to provide on-site guidance to grassroots doctors and deliver medical services to about 5,000 patients.