1.

Coronary heart disease

Dubbed by former Department of
Health Undersecretary Teodoro
Herbosa as “the silent epidemic,”
coronary heart disease-related
deaths claim the top spot of the
deadliest disease in the
Philippines, at 16.86% of total
deaths.

Also known as ischemic heart disease, the diseases under the said umbrella term
prevent blood from reaching the coronary arteries, thus depriving the heart of the
blood supply it needs. Some of the most common conditions under this are angina,
heart attack, and atherosclerosis, some of which can be classified as congenital
heart disease.

2. Stroke
Like the heart, the brain also
needs an endless supply of
oxygen for it to function
properly.

When a stroke occurs, a portion

of the brain gets damaged
because of lack of blood supply
to that part of the brain. This
causes brain cells die and
connections between neurons
become lost.

But while not all cases of stroke are lethal, the Stroke Society of the Philippines
still dubs it as the second deadliest disease in the Philippines, causing 12.14% of
deaths every year.
3. Influenza and pneumonia
In 2012, the
University of
Philippines College
of Medicine
reported that
pneumonia was the
leading cause of
death among
children aged one to
four years old.

Around wo million children die every year because of this serious lung disease,
which can lead to fatal complications.

Despite the intensive campaign of the government to prevent deaths due to

pneumonia, it still is the third leading cause of death in the Philippines at 9.95%.

4. Diabetes
By 2025, experts had
predicted that the number of
people with diabetes globally
will exceed 320 million, but
today’s statistics shows that
the number of people with the
said condition has already
reached a staggering number
of 415 million.

In the Philippines, there have

already been more than
300,000 deaths related to diabetes, the International Diabetes Federation sounded
the alarms in the country as more the country quickly become the top 15 diabetes
hotspot.
5. Tuberculosis
Previously taking the sixth spot on
the Philippines’ deadliest diseases
list, tuberculosis (TB) has become
more problematic as opposed to
other lung diseases due to the
increasing number of victims with
this certain lung disease.

Right now, it’s responsible for 5%

of casualties in the country. Even
famous people like former
Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon weren’t spared from the disease when he
died of TB in 1944.

6. Hypertension
Considered as one of the most
common medical conditions linked
to lifestyle, hypertension affects
about one-fifth of Filipino adults,
according to the Philippine Society
of Hypertension. And the numbers
just keep growing.

Since hypertension has no

symptoms, it is hard to spot and it
can do damages to vital organs
before you even know it. High
blood pressure can cause
complications such as liver disease,
kidney disease, and other health
issues that can be fatal.

The death rate of hypertension for every 100,000 people in the Philippines is
38.20.
7. Lung disease
In 2030, the Global Burden
of Disease Study by the
World Health Organization
(WHO) predicted that lung
diseases such as chronic
bronchitis and emphysema
would become the third-
leading cause of death.

In the Philippines, only 2%

of people have been
diagnosed by the said lung diseases and the rest find out about it too late.

With risk factors such as pollution, chemical inhalation, and, most importantly,
cigarette smoking as the biggest culprits, it’s no surprise that the Philippines ranks
28th in terms of mortality rate for lung diseases.

8. Kidney disease
In just a span of 10 years, the
Department of Health has
reported a meteoric rise
among Filipinos that undergo
dialysis due to kidney
disease.

From only 4,000 cases back

in 2004, the number of people
with end-stage renal diseases
have escalated to 120,000.

People contract a kidney

disease due to different factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and
glomerulonephritis, which is kidney failure due to the part of the kidney that helps
filter waste is damaged.

With a death rate of 3.04% every year, it’s no surprise that we’re 13th in the world
in terms of kidney-related mortalities.
9. Breast cancer
The campaign against breast
cancer has always been
intense in the Philippines,
yet it still poses a huge threat
to Filipina women. The
Philippine Society of
Medical Oncology said
breast cancer is the most
common form of cancer in
the country, with 16% of
cases in every 50,000
diagnoses of cancer.

In the country, one out of

four women die in the first
five years and two out of five in 10 years after diagnosis.

10. Asthma
Asthma may seem
harmless to those who
have this condition, so
long as they have an
inhaler with them at all
times.

However, the
prevalence of asthma
in the Philippines also
leads to deaths if an
attack has not been
addressed.

With more than 10 million Filipinos suffering from asthma, the deaths rate for
asthma has reached 2.37% of the total deaths in the country. This places
Philippines on the ninth place in terms of world asthma deaths.