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The number of people suffering from heart disease in India has increased almost three times during the last seven years. Even more worryingly, young people in the age group of 15 to 29 years are also vulnerable to heart disease, according to the findings of the latest survey of the National Statistical Organisation (NSO).
According to the Household Social Consumption: Health conducted by the NSO between January and December 2025, about 13.1 per cent of Indians reported sick in the last fortnight, while a total of 15,217 cases of disease per 100,000 population were recorded. This indicated that many people had more than one health problem. Among women, the number is 17,006, which was higher than men (13,504).
Ailments like cardiovascular diseases (3,891) and metabolic problems like diabetes (3,681) constitute the lion’s share among diseases. Apart from this, respiratory illnesses (1,536) and bone-joint pain (1,226) are also prevalent in large numbers.
Cardiovascular diseases include hypertension, heart disease, chest pain and difficulty in breathing. The number of people complaining of hypertension was 3,358 per one lakh population, while the number of other diseases was recorded at 533.
Cardiovascular diseases have emerged as the biggest health challenge in the country. According to the data, they account for the highest share of 25.6 per cent of the total diseases, which is higher than all other categories. This is followed by diseases related to hormonal disturbances, blood sugar and nutrition.
The impact of cardiovascular diseases increases rapidly with age. While it is only 0.3 per cent at 0-4 years and 0.2 per cent at 5-14 years, it increases to 2.1 per cent for the age group 15-29 years and 15.3 per cent for 30-44 years. It reaches 30.1 per cent in the age group of 45-59 years and 37.8 per cent in those over 60 years. This trend clearly shows that cardiovascular diseases are now becoming the most prominent health problem in the country.
The survey found that the highest number of people admitted to hospitals due to infection were in the age group of 15 to 29 years at 27 per cent. The number of people being hospitalised due to cardiovascular disease in this age group came to 3.4 per cent.
In the age group of 30-44, 7.3 per cent people were admitted to hospitals with cardiovascular disease during the year 2025. A whopping 13.9 per cent in the 45-59 age group were hospitalised due to cardiovascular disease. In people over 60 years of age, 18.2 per cent of people were admitted to hospital due to cardiovascular disease.
The report also mentioned the changing trends of diseases between 2017-18 and 2025 which is extremely worrisome. There has been a decrease in infection-related diseases in seven years, reducing from 2,547 per one lakh population in 2017-18 to 2,302 in 2025-26.
But cardiovascular diseases have almost tripled and rank first. In 2017-18, 1,333 cases per 100,000 population were associated with this group of diseases. This figure increased to 3,891 per one lakh in 2025.
According to the report, the share of heart-related diseases in hospitalisation cases is significant in both rural and urban areas. In rural areas, the share is 11.5 per cent among men, 9.0 per cent among women and 10.3 per cent overall. In urban areas, it is 13.2 per cent among men, 10.5 per cent for women and 11.9 per cent overall.
This clearly shows that the number of hospitalisations due to heart diseases in cities is higher than in rural areas, and the share of men is higher than that of women.
According to the report, heart diseases are among the most costly ailments in terms of hospitalisation expenses. However, some other serious diseases are even more expensive.
The treatment of heart diseases in urban areas is quite expensive compared to many others. Heart ailments cost an average of Rs 69,451, which is more than infections (Rs 17,879), blood-related diseases (Rs 23,565) and respiratory diseases (Rs 42,520). The cost of heart diseases is also higher than metabolic diseases (Rs 37,166) and gastro-intestinal problems (Rs 40,409).
However, some other diseases such as cancer (Rs 1,04,424), kidney failure (Rs 71,246) and musculo-skeletal problems (Rs 76,106) are even more expensive. Despite this, heart diseases remain in the top category in terms of expenses.
In rural areas, the average cost of treatment for heart disease is Rs 47,135, which is more than infections (Rs 14,397) and respiratory diseases (Rs 22,881). However, this expenditure is lower than cancer (Rs 62,588) and kidney failure (Rs 76,004), which are among the most expensive diseases to treat. At the same time, the treatment of heart diseases is also very expensive compared to metabolic (Rs 29,179) and gastro-intestinal (Rs 34,451) diseases.
