Ischemic heart diseases—the weakening of the heart caused by reduced blood flow—remain the leading cause of death in the Philippines, accounting for nearly one in every five deaths between January and September last year, latest data from the Philippine Statistics Office show.
The PSA said that of the 418,027 registered deaths in the first nine months of 2022, ischaemic heart deceases accounted for 77,173 or 18.5 percent of total.
Cerebrovascular disease or those affecting blood flow and blood vessels in the brain is second highest cause of death among Filipinos, claiming 42,890. Neoplasms, more commonly known as cancer, is third as it claimed 42,497 between January and September 2022.
Deaths due to diabetes and hypertension were fourth and fifth, with respective recorded deaths of 26,774 and 23,971 during the period under review.
Total deaths in the first nine months of 2022, the PSA said, was actually down 37 percent from the 659,244 posted in the same period in 2021, with all top 10 leading cause of deaths showing double-digit declines.
COVID-19 dropped out of the top 10 list, coming in at number 11 behind tuberculosis as a leading cause of death. Total reported COVID-19 deaths plunged 85 percent on-year to 9,749 as more Filipinos got vaccinated and health workers learned how to deal with the disease better.
