Prevalence of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in General Population and Public Education Programmes on Spotting Signs and Symptoms

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has observed an increase in the number of sudden heart failures in the general population over the past three years; and (b) whether there can be more public education programmes to help people better spot signs and symptoms of heart failure.

We confirmed with Ms Joan Pereira that the "sudden heart failures" in the Parliamentary Question refers to people with no previous cardiac history dying as a result of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or "heart attack".

The number of people with no previous history of cardiac disease who passed away within 30 days of a heart attack in 2018 to 2020 were 353, 359, and 389, respectively. Accounting for Singapore’s ageing population, this translates to death rates of 8.4 per 100,000 population in 2018, 7.4 in 2019 and 7.8 in 2020. Data for 2021 is still being collated.

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has put out public messages on common symptoms experienced by people suffering from heart attacks. Under the national Screen for Life (SFL) programme, HPB also encourages Singapore residents to go for regular health screening for high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, obesity and diabetes, which are all risk factors for AMI; as well as to avoid unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and smoking.