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CVD Incidence in Barbados, 2010-2023
BNR CVD briefing, 2023
Briefing created by the Barbados National Chronic Disease Registry, The University of the West Indies
Group Contacts - Christina Howitt (BNR lead) - Ian Hambleton (analytics) - Updated on 7 Nov 2025
Key messages
Age-standardised incidence rates per 100,000 population, 2023.
141
stroke incidence among women
198
stroke incidence among men
90
heart attack incidence among women
145
heart attack incidence among men
Incidence rates were higher among men for both stroke and heart attack.
Why this matters
Incidence rates show the rate at which new cardiovascular events are occurring in the population.
- Counts show pressure on services.
- Incidence rates allow fairer comparison over time.
- Including deaths before hospital care gives a fuller view of disease burden.
For heart attacks, hospital data alone can miss a substantial part of the burden.
What we did
We estimated annual age-standardised incidence rates for stroke and heart attack in Barbados from 2010 to 2023.
- We examined hospital-registered events.
- We added death-certificate-only events to estimate fuller population burden.
- We compared incidence patterns by event type, sex, and period.
Annual stroke and heart attack incidence rates, 2010-2023
Main pattern
- Stroke incidence was higher than heart attack incidence.
- Men had higher rates than women.
- Death-certificate-only events increased measured incidence, especially for heart attacks.
Interpretation
Hospital data and death certificates tell different parts of the incidence story.
Hospital data capture treated events. Death-certificate-only events capture people whose cardiovascular event was recorded as the underlying cause of death but who were not captured as hospital cases.
Combining both sources gives a more complete view of cardiovascular burden.
Incidence differences by event type, sex, and period
Sex differences
- Men had higher incidence rates across the briefing outputs.
- The male excess was visible for both stroke and heart attack.
- These differences remain important for prevention and service planning.
What this means
The incidence briefing shows continuing cardiovascular burden in Barbados.
The pattern is not only about hospital workload. It also reflects underlying disease risk, care-seeking, emergency response, and deaths occurring before hospital care.
Routine incidence monitoring helps turn registry data into planning intelligence.
Outputs and citation
Tables, figure data, metadata, workbook files, and build records are available in the online briefing.
Barbados National Registry. CVD Incidence in Barbados, 2010-2023: BNR CVD briefing, 2023. Barbados National Chronic Disease Registry, The University of the West Indies. Accessed: [insert date accessed].
