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Cardiovascular disease has surpassed cancer to become the biggest killer in China after accounting for over 40 percentage of death from diseases, a report from Chinese National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases said recently. With 290 million sufferers recorded in 2017, it means 1 in 5 Chinese are struggling with the disease.

The report signals a rapidly increasing tendency among younger and low-income groups to display the symptoms of heart disease.

At the same time, people in the countryside are severely affected with a continuous higher risk compared to urbanites, which requires the government's urgent efforts to prevent and control the disease.

The report says a lack of exercise is the main reason for the rise in the disease.

Research in 2010 showed that only 11.9 percent of Chinese do regular medium-intensity exercise through two hours of such exercise or four hours of walking every week can lower the risks of cardiovascular death by over 20 percent.

High levels of oil in the diet preferred by Chinese people is considered to be another factor, as well as a lack of vitamin C.

Research from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has found that people in China are losing 1.73 years of their life span due to not taking enough fruit, as most Chinese consume 40.7 grams of fruit a day while the recommended serving is 200 to 350 grams.

Cardiovascular disease is a class of ailments that involve the heart or blood vessels.

Among the 290 million sufferers, 93 percent are believed to have high blood pressure.

Stroke affects 13 million people, and various heart diseases are torturing 23 million patients in total.