Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in Barbados, and their risk factors, diabetes and hypertension, are among the most common diseases diagnosed in primary care.
These conditions contribute to disability and poor quality of life that result in long-term use of health services and add to the country’s financial burden. Fortunately, most of these diseases are preventable.
The Barbados National Registry has documented and reported heart attacks and strokes in Barbados for the past 10 years. From 2010 to 2014, there was an average of 361 heart attacks and 600 strokes, compared to 452 heart attacks and 680 strokes from 2015 – 2019.
While most of these events are occurring in persons over 65 years old (elderly or retired persons), cases are happening in the younger population as well.
Strokes and heart attacks can lead to long-term complications, like depression and disability – limiting the quality of life and productivity for these patients in cases where they do not return to full capacity.
