Asians develop heart failure at an average age of 61, approximately a decade earlier than patients in the U.S. and Europe. Because many Asian patients do not understand the disease or the early stage symptoms, the five-year survival rate is very low. More Asians die of heart disease or stroke than of cancer.
In Singapore, heart failure is the primary cause of elderly patient hospitalizations. In China, over 20% of adults have a cardiovascular disease — nearly 250 million people. Almost 20% of deaths each year are attributed to heart disease. Annual cardiovascular events in China are expected to increase by more than 40% over the next 15 years.
A comparatively higher percentage of Asian heart failure patients also have diabetes. High cholesterol, obesity and hypertension are common. Among Singaporean heart failure patients, 60% also have diabetes, whereas in the West, only 35% of heart failure patients have diabetes.
Due to the increasingly high rates of cardiovascular disease and related health issues among Asians, Western medical companies selling medical devices and pharmaceuticals that address these diseases should find rapidly expanding market opportunities in Asia.