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Speakers at a webinar on World Heart Day have called for increased public funding to prevent and control hypertension, warning that the growing burden of high blood pressure and heart disease is putting an increasing number of young people at risk.
They said a greater share of the additional health-sector budget should be directed towards hypertension prevention, early detection, treatment and access to essential medicines to help reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases.
The speakers made the call at a webinar titled “Health Budget to Address Hypertension and Heart Disease Risk Among Young People: Bangladesh Perspective”, organised by research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) on Monday, September 28, ahead of World Heart Day.
World Heart Day will be observed on Tuesday under the theme “Heart Disease Can Hide in Plain Sight: Don’t Miss a Beat.”
Speakers said cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of premature death globally and in Bangladesh, with hypertension being one of its major risk factors. They stressed that the rising prevalence of hypertension among younger people makes prevention and early intervention increasingly important.
According to figures presented at the webinar, cardiovascular diseases accounted for around 283,800 deaths in Bangladesh in 2024, while hypertension was associated with 52 percent of those deaths. Cardiovascular diseases account for approximately 34 percent of all deaths in the country, the speakers said.
They also cited the Bangladesh NCD STEPS Survey 2018, which found that around 12 percent of people aged 18 to 39 had hypertension, highlighting the growing risk among the younger population.
Professor Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital & Research Institute, welcomed the increase in the health-sector budget allocation from 5.3 percent to 7.4 percent in the current fiscal year.
He said a significant portion of the additional allocation should be used to improve hypertension control, including ensuring greater access to antihypertensive medicines.
“Directing a notable portion of this extra allocation towards antihypertensive medicine will effectively lower the risk of hypertension-linked heart diseases in the country,” he said.
Dr Md Maruf Haque Khan, assistant professor at the Department of Public Health and Informatics at Bangladesh Medical University, stressed the importance of prevention alongside medical treatment.
He said greater awareness of healthy dietary practices and lifestyles was needed to reduce the risk of hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases.
Sajjadur Rahman, deputy editor of The Business Standard, called for broader public awareness campaigns targeting young people.
He said extensive campaigns through mass media and social media platforms were needed to make young people more aware of hypertension and the associated risk of heart disease.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh country lead of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, pointed to the wider burden of non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh.
He said NCDs account for 71 percent of all deaths in the country, while only 4.2 percent of the health budget is allocated to addressing the sector.
“Funding must be increased to control hypertension and other non-communicable diseases,” he said.
The speakers stressed that hypertension often develops without obvious symptoms, making regular blood-pressure checks particularly important. They said prevention strategies should focus not only on older adults but also on younger people, among whom unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, obesity and other risk factors can contribute to elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
They also emphasised the need to make essential medicines more affordable and accessible, strengthen primary healthcare services and improve early detection so that people with high blood pressure can receive timely treatment.
S M Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, and Aminul Islam Sujan, consultant at Vital Strategies, also participated in the webinar as discussants.
ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, presided over the webinar, while Samiha Bintay Kamal, programme officer at PROGGA, moderated the session.
Participants included professionals from different regions of the country as well as representatives of youth organisations, including the Bangladesh Medical Students’ Society and Platform Doctors Foundation.
The discussion highlighted a broader public-health concern: preventing heart disease requires action well before serious illness develops. For Bangladesh, the speakers said, stronger investment in hypertension control, combined with healthier lifestyles, public awareness and accessible primary healthcare, could help reduce the country’s growing burden of premature cardiovascular deaths.