Bangladesh records an average of 562 to 777 deaths from heart disease each day, while about 2 thousand 720 people are newly affected daily. An estimated 1 crore 2 lakh 62 thousand 190 people are living with some form of cardiovascular disease. Yet most government medical colleges lack the specialists needed to treat them. Some hospitals have catheterization laboratories with broken equipment, while others lack trained staff to operate working machines.
The shortages have created a major crisis in cardiac treatment, advanced medical education and emergency care. Patients across the country must rely on hospitals in Dhaka, increasing costs and the risk that critically ill people die before reaching the capital. Bangladesh is observing World Heart Day under this year’s theme, ‘Don’t Miss a Beat.’
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data from the University of Washington show that 9 lakh 92 thousand 736 people develop heart disease in Bangladesh each year. World Health Organization and research estimates indicate that more than 2 lakh people die annually. Nazmul Hosan, a leading cardiologist and director general of the Directorate General of Medical Education, said heart disease accounts for one-third of deaths from noncommunicable diseases. Although treatment has advanced greatly over three decades, 90% of that progress is concentrated in Dhaka while 90% of patients live outside the capital, he said, urging expansion of modern cardiac care nationwide.
Specialists identify high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, unhealthy diets, excessive salt and fat, and physical inactivity as major risk factors. Government medical colleges and specialized hospitals generally need professors to lead departments and associate professors to head departments or units, but most cardiology departments lack enough specialists. The shortage disrupts treatment and medical education, making advanced cardiology courses difficult to operate. FCPS, diploma and other programs are affected, while professor and associate professor posts remain vacant. Current patient care is narrowing and the pipeline of future cardiologists is being constrained.
Cath lab shortages have deepened the crisis. Sources said labs at Dhaka Medical College, Mugda Medical College, Barishal Medical College and Faridpur Medical College were out of service. One of two labs at Bogura Medical College and a lab in Chattogram were also broken, while Rangpur’s equipment worked intermittently. A professor said the public cardiac care system changed significantly after August 5, 2024: experienced professors were dismissed or transferred to posts where their skills could not be used, worsening specialist and training shortages. Bangladesh treats at least 11 types of heart disease, led by ischemic heart disease, along with cardiomyopathy and myocarditis, rheumatic and valvular heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, aortic aneurysm, pulmonary arterial hypertension, lower-extremity peripheral arterial disease and congenital heart disease. Eight people die from heart disease, and nearly half of such deaths occur before age 70. Disease is uncontrolled in 85% of people with hypertension and diabetes. The HEARTS initiative sought to bring 10 crore people with those conditions under protocol-based treatment; by June 2025, more than 9 crore were receiving such care at public facilities. Regional measures have also targeted tobacco, excess salt and industrial trans fats.
Funding gaps, shortages of trained workers, limited testing equipment and medicines in primary care, and weak controls on tobacco and unhealthy food remain major barriers in Bangladesh and neighboring countries. Public health experts say major hospitals alone cannot handle the burden. They call for detection and control of hypertension and diabetes through primary care, reliable medicine supplies, trained staff, functioning cath labs, adequate cardiologists at medical colleges, and effective regulation of tobacco and unhealthy food.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report