Hypertension, diabetes claim more lives in Delhi than other diseases: Survey

New Delhi: A new report shows that Delhi is seeing an alarming rise in cases of hypertension, also known as high blood pressure and, which is a risk factor for heart failure and stroke.

According to a survey conducted by NGO Praja Foundation, the national capital reported as many as 3,890 hypertension-related and 1,356 diabetes-related deaths in 2015 – which means more people die of high BP and diabetes in Delhi than any other diseases each year.

Cases of hypertension in the national capital have increased from 3,22,510 in 2015 to 3,61,443 in 2016, as per the survey.

During the same period, Delhi also witnessed a steep rise in cases of diarrhoea, as the number of people affected by the disease rose to 6,22,480 in 2016 against 5,64,416 in 2015.

"The data was procured under the RTI act 2005. These statistics indicate that people did raise a red flag on certain issues but the authorities did not pay any heed to them," Milind Mhaske, project director of Praja Foundation, was quoted as saying.

The survey, involving over 24,000 households from across Delhi, also revealed that only 24% of the people living in the national capital used the services of government dispensaries and hospitals.

The report also highlights shortage of staff in the municipal corporation dispensaries and Delhi government hospitals.

Delhi is currently battling mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

At least 30 fresh cases of dengue were reported last week, taking the number of people affected by the vector-borne disease in the city this year to 180, aas per the latest municipal report.

While the chikungunya cases stand at 195, the total number of malaria cases recorded till July 22 has shot up to 230.

Latest data provided by the Delhi government showed that as many as 320 cases of swine flu have been reported in the national capital so far since January 2017.