New global target on non-communicable diseases: A call to action for the global cardiovascular disease community

摘要

For many years, cardiovascular disease (CVD) was regarded as a lifestyle disease primarily affecting ageing, affluent populations. This is reflected in the virtual absence of global policies concerned with CVD control in poor and rich countries alike. However, CVD and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes, account for nearly two-thirds (63%) of global deaths, with the majority of deaths from NCDs (80%) occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This represents a public health emergency requiring an urgent worldwide response. Now with the World Health Organisation's (WHO) adoption of a global target to prevent premature NCD mortality, the time has finally arrived for the global CVD community to join forces in reducing CVD suffering and death in all countries and among all populations.