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PETALING JAYA: Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Malaysia, with 16,325 victims accounting for 15% of medically certified deaths in 2019, according to the Department of Statistics.
Statistical chief Mohd Uzir Mahidin said 173,746 deaths were recorded in 2019, of which 109,164 were medically certified deaths and 64,582 were not.
In a statement, it said that 69.4% of deaths from ischemic heart disease were men, while 31.6% were women. He said this was the leading cause of death for bumiputeras (14.5%), Chinese (14%) and Indians (20.4%).
“Worldwide, ischemic heart disease was also the leading cause of death in developed countries such as Australia (11.1%) and the United States (23.1%).
“Unhealthy lifestyles and diets are among the contributing factors in death from ischemic heart disease today,” he said.
Uzir said that heart disease was the leading cause of death in 78 out of 160 administrative districts, with the highest percentage recorded in Sik, Kedah, at 27.1%.
“Ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the age groups 41 to 59 years (18%) and 60 years and over (16%),” he said.
The second leading cause of death in Malaysia was pneumonia, which accounted for 12.2% of deaths, followed by cerebrovascular diseases (8%), transport accidents (3.8%), and malignant neoplasms of the trachea, bronchi and lungs (2.4%).
“Aside from the top five causes of death, statistics also show that deaths caused by cancer have increased since 2000,” said Uzir.
Meanwhile, transport accidents were the main cause of death for children up to 14 years of age (3.3%) and for those between 15 and 40 years of age.
