The Ministry of Health has revealed that 83% of deaths in the country are due to non-communicable diseases. According to the data, 35% of people over the age of 60 suffer from high blood pressure.
Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that nearly 60,000 people suffer from strokes annually due to undiagnosed high blood pressure.
The Minister said that data has shown that about 4,000 of them die or become permanently disabled every year. He further emphasized that 20% of the country’s adult population suffers from diabetes and that 41% of them are not receiving any treatment, which is alarming.