Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one killer globally, is not about to take a break. An estimated 17.3 million people died from it in 2008; by 2030, the World Health Organisation predicts, the toll will rise to 23.6 million.
Experts speaking at last month's Asia Cardiocare Summit in Hong Kong warned of an impending heart health 'crisis' in Asia, in large part due to the rising prevalence of type-two diabetes and other interrelated risk factors.
'Diabetes is the single most important risk factor of CVD,' says Dr Francis Chow Chun-chung, head of the Chinese University's division of endocrinology and diabetes, and executive councillor of the Asia Diabetes Foundation.
CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, and of these, coronary heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death. Research shows that having diabetes almost doubles one's risk of developing CVD, which accounts for up to 70 to 80 per cent of deaths in people with type-two diabetes.
In the past two to three decades, an upward trend of diabetes has been seen across Asian countries, according to Chow. Dr David Waters, emeritus professor in the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says the biggest jump in diabetes figures will be in Southeast Asia - from 22 million in 2000 to 38 million by 2030.
Apart from diabetes, the modifiable risk factors of CVD include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity and smoking.