One in every 5 died of heart disease in city hospitals, says report

Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 18

One in every five persons died due to heart diseases in the city, reveals the latest census report on Medical Certification on Cause of Death (MCCD)-2017.

The ‘disease of circulatory system’ (heart disease) was the leading cause of deaths in Chandigarh as 2,051 people died due to it in 2017. It accounted for 21.8 per cent of the total deaths in the city. Ischaemic Heart Diseases (IDH), a condition wherein arteries of the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart was found to be a major cause of death as it claimed 497 lives.

Under the similar death cause group, 329 deaths were reported from hypertensive diseases, 321 deaths from cerebrovascular diseases among various other factors such as pulmonary circulation.

The second leading cause of death is ‘infections and parasitic diseases’, constituting 10.4 per cent (977) of total deaths. Under this group, tuberculosis claimed 325 lives, followed by intestinal infectious disease (167) and bacterial disease (237). Diseases of digestive system stood as the third leading cause with 1,240 deaths.

In the age-group of 25-55 years, the first two leading causes were diseases of the digestive system and circulatory system, however, for persons 55 years and above, the first leading cause was heart disease.

Besides, over 921 deaths (9.8 per cent of total deaths) were reported to a certain condition occurring in perinatal period, which is defined as the time immediately after and before birth.

In all, 333 infants died due to slow fetal growth or fetal malnutrition, followed by hypoxia (condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply) with 296 deaths.

Only 44% deaths medically certified

• Chandigarh has been ranked 10th in the country with 44.3 per cent of medically-certified deaths as against total registered in 2017. Of 21,236 deaths, only 9,418 were medically certified. The overall national average stood at 22 per cent. 
• The highest number of deaths (1,547 i.e. 16.4 per cent) of the total medically-certified deaths, has been reported in the age-group 
• of 55-64 years.

n About 60 per cent of infant deaths have been reported to be caused by ‘certain conditions originating in the perinatal period’.