The Leading Causes of Death

Do you know which were the first 5 conditions accounted for almost 40% of all deaths worldwide in 2012?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the top 5 causes of death were:

1. Ischaemic heart disease
2. Stroke
3. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
4. Lower respiratory infections and
5. Trachea, bronchus, lung diseases

Top leading causes of death in the world by WHO

The cardiovascular diseases killed 17.5 million people in 2012, that is 3 in every 10 deaths. Of these, 7.4 million people died of ischaemic heart disease and 6.7 million from stroke.

• Ischaemic heart disease is known as coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease and it is caused by narrowing of the arteries, which leads to less blood and oxygen reaching the heart.
• Stroke is caused by disruption of the blood supply to the brain. This may result either from a blockage (ischaemic stroke) or ruptured blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke).

Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive lung disease have remained the top major killers during the past decade.

According to the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), the largest contributing risk factor across the leading causes of death in the United States in 2013 was diet-related.

Why people die in United States by JAMA

Why did we chose to talk about causes-of-death statistics?

There are numerous reasons for discussing these statics, like:

• To learn the truths behind our modern society.
• To help us determine our focus for our own health actions!
• To establish long-term goals of making small changes in our diets to become accustomed to healthier options, thus making the healthier choice the default everyday choice.
• None of us want to be part of a statistic just because we did not take interest in adopting a healthy lifestyle.
• To regain our lost motivation of eating healthy and exercising more.
• To help others around us to commit to a healthier lifestyle.
• To visit our physicians on a regular basis and to take care of our own health risks.
• To dedicate ourselves in LIVING OUR BEST EVERYDAY, STARTING TODAY!

We hope we raised some hard questions in your mind, but now you have to decide on your own how you want to live your life.

Learn, share and live your best everyday!

Resources:
      www.who.int/mediacentre/
      www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/ng-interactive/
      jama.jamanetwork.com/