Bad lifestyles blamed for rise in heart diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest killer of Chinese people, accounting for more than 41 percent of deaths among all diseases, a newly released report shows.

Cancers and respiratory diseases are ranked second and third, according to the Report on Cardiovascular diseases in China.

About 3.5 million people die from cardiovascular diseases in the country every year.

Chinese people's increasingly unhealthy lifestyles are the main cause of the increase in the diseases, said Gao Runlin, an academic at the Cardiovascular Institute under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, citing poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise.

Chinese now consume 12 grams of salt a day on average — double the recommended amount — and not enough vegetables and fruit, Gao said during the 2013 China Heart Congress in Beijing.

To better treat patients and help prevent such diseases, the National Center for Cardiovascular Disease has been setting up a nationwide community-based network, which now has 2,500 centers in 22 provinces, according to Hu Shengshou, the center's director.

"But it is still a very small number compared to great demand around the country. We hope that people can adopt a healthy lifestyle and don’t have do cope with disease at all," Hu said.