Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in many Asian countries. In fact, Asia accounts for more than half of the 18 million deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease annually. In this context, the $15 billion market for cardiac devices in Asia is growing quickly.
In countries such as China and India, the cardiac device market has seen double-digit growth over the past several years. In particular, minimally invasive cardiac solutions and more basic cardiac products targeted towards these developing markets should experience strong sales and demand.
There are several key reasons for the fast expanding cardiac medical device market in Asia, where there is a high degree of unmet clinical need for these devices. The incidence of lifestyle diseases like hypertension and coronary artery diseases is rising as consumers adopt more Western lifestyles — for example, activities such as smoking, exercising less, and eating fast food.
Currently, 25 million Chinese have coronary artery disease, and cardiovascular devices account for almost one-third of India’s medical device market.
Aging consumers with longer lifespans also translate into increased demand for cardiac devices in Asia. Japan’s strong reimbursement system has contributed to the strong growth in the Japanese interventional cardiology medical device market, as an increasing number of Japanese seniors obtain cardiac devices and choose surgical procedures.
The rising need for cardiac devices among Asian populations, when combined with a growing middle class that can afford more medical care, means that Western cardiac device companies should see increasing opportunities in the Asian cardiac markets.