KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — Ministry of Health (MOH) data has revealed that about a third (35.2 per cent) of heart attack fatalities in Malaysia occur in people aged below 60.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told Segamat MP Yuneswaran Ramaraj in a written Dewan Rakyat reply on March 26 that ischemic heart disease (heart attack) was the leading cause of death in 2022, with 20,322 fatalities, accounting for 16.1 per cent of medically confirmed deaths that year.
This marks a decrease of 5.4 per cent (1,168) compared to 2021, where the recorded deaths due to heart attacks were 21,490.
By age group, approximately 64.7 per cent of heart attack deaths occur in individuals aged 60 years and above. About 30.9 per cent occur in individuals aged 40 to 59 years, 3.7 per cent in those aged 30 to 39 years, and 0.6 per cent in those below 30 years.
The causes of the increase in heart attack deaths can be divided into modifiable and non-modifiable factors.
Dzulkefly highlighted that older age is the primary non-modifiable factor for heart attack deaths. Malaysia is expected to experience an increase in the population aged 65 years and above to 14.5 per cent by 2040.
The main modifiable factor leading to heart attack deaths is obesity, with 19.7 per cent of Malaysians classified as obese according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 (NHMS 2019), along with smoking habits.
Other non-communicable diseases and risk factors closely associated with heart attack deaths include diabetes, affecting 18.3 per cent of adults aged 18 years and above, hypertension, affecting 30.0 per cent of adults aged 18 years and above, and high cholesterol levels, especially among 38.1 per cent of adults aged 18 years and above.
