More than 1.30 lakh Mumbaikars have died because of hypertension, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks in the past five years

Diseases and complications of the blood circulatory system have emerged as one of the top killers in the city, accounting for at least 27 per cent of total deaths every year since 2007. Residents aged between 40 and 49 have been particularly susceptible to the ailments (hypertension, blood clots, strokes, heart attacks)– more than 11,000 people in the age group have died in the past five years.

This worrying trend among Mumbai's middle–aged citizens has come to light following a scrutiny of the BMC's annual figures on deaths. Civic health officials and doctors say the situation is likely to worsen unless people change their sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits – the two factors, which, along with stress, have been blamed for heart conditions.

"We are seeing more and more people in the age group of 40–49 complaining of heart problems and other complications related to the circulatory system. Early detection does not solve problems as the mortality rate is high in such cases, "said Dr Chaitanya Ghokle, a heart specialist at Fortis Hospital.

According to the BMC data, almost 1 lakh people die every year, with circulatory diseases claiming 28,000 to 29,000 lives. From 2007 to 2011, the ailments have led to the deaths of more than 1.30 lakh Mumbaikars. Infectious and respiratory diseases also feature prominently in BMC's statistics, resulting in deaths of 96,774 and 60,273 people, respectively, during the same period.

A senior medical officer said that respiratory cases, which include lung conditions, had gone up because of increasing pollution in the city. Dr P Prabhudesai, a lung specialist at Lilavati Hospital, said smoking was also one of the main causes. "If the current trend continues, we will see an explosion in the number of obstructive lung disease cases in the next eight years, " he said.

DISEASE-SPECIFIC DEATHS
1,30,907
Related to circulatory system
96,774
infectious and parasitic diseases
60,273
related to respiratory system