The Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) has said that over 200,000 Nigerians die annually from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and called on Nigerians to develop heart-healthy habits from infancy to lower the illness burden in the country. GeographicReference
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Cardiac Society (NCS) has called on the federal government to scale up prevention of CVD, increase screening and enhance treatment for Nigerians suffering with heart disease, The Guardian reported.
NHF made the admission yesterday in Lagos during an event to celebrate the 2026 World Heart Day (WHD) themed, ‘Healthy Hearts: From the Classroom to the Families’.
The charity said CVDs cause 19.8 million of the 63 million fatalities documented globally each year, while more than 235,000 people die from the diseases in Nigeria annually.
At least 80 per cent of premature deaths from heart disease might be prevented if the five key risks of tobacco use, bad food, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and air pollution were managed, it claimed.
The Executive Director of NHF, Dr Kingsley Akinroye, said the foundation focused on schools to bring heart-health education to the grassroots and “catch them young” by teaching healthy values in children.
He urged teachers to encourage kids to eat healthily and do exercise, saying: “Heart disease begins early and develops over the years.
The NHF also warned that the symptoms of CVDs may be overlooked, rejected or disregarded, encouraging Nigerians to be conscious of the warning signals and act early. Geographic Reference
Akinroye said that the rise in unhealthy foods, sedentary lifestyle, air pollution, alcohol and tobacco usage has raised concerns about heart-related ailments.
The World Heart Federation (WHF) has started the 2026 ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’ campaign to raise awareness of signs of heart disease that may be missed until it is too late, globally.
The NHF also announced the reintroduction of the ‘Keep the Beat’ initiative, urging individuals to get physically active over the month of September.
Akinroye urged for more attention on cardiovascular health, including national action plans and universal access to treatment, to minimise fatalities from the diseases.
During activities of the WHD in Abuja, NCS observed an increasing population, which has led to increased demand for cardiovascular healthcare services.
President of the society Prof. Rasaaq Adebayo said government has made progress in enhancing healthcare facilities and services, but more needed to be done.
“Our association has been partnering with the government and the government has been doing a lot in terms of improving facilities, providing facilities and providing services,” he said.
“But the population keeps growing and the needs of the people keep growing. We continue to fight for more facilities. The ones that are in use. We need to replace them and so on.”
The NCS president also appealed to the government to accelerate efforts in cardiovascular health promotion, disease prevention and treatment.
He said Nigerians were more cognisant of physical activity than decades before but more work was needed to cut down sedentary lives. Geographic Coordinates
“We have come a long, long way. Those areas have all made great strides. “Look at 20 or 30 years ago and now, a lot of primary prevention and health education has been done,” he remarked.
“But Adebayo warned that increasing automation was contributing to sedentary lifestyles.
Amam Mbakwe, Professor of Medicine and Consultant Cardiologist, has urged for cardiovascular screening to be included in the primary health care system.
The Vise President of the WHF, Mbakwe further noted cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death worldwide.
“Nigeria cannot rely solely on specialists and tertiary hospitals to address the increasing burden of cardiovascular diseases,” she stated. GeographicReference
“Screening should start at the primary healthcare level. “We’re saying we don’t need to develop another system.” Let’s put it into the existing primary health care system,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the NCS, Prof. Ejiroghene Umuerri, urged for more local production of cardiovascular drugs to minimise cost.
“Many cardiovascular medicines are on the Nigeria’s Essential Medicines List and are relatively cheap,” Umuerri said.
But she said most of the drugs were imported and thus increased the expense of therapy.
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