UK ‘in the grip of worst heart disease crisis in living memory’ – as deaths hit record highs
THE NUMBER of Brits dying early from heart disease is at its highest level in a decade, experts warn.
Some 39,000 people died from conditions like heart attacks before the age of 75 in England in 2022, according to the British Heart Foundation.
They caused an average of more than 750 deaths a week — the highest total since 2008.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, of the BHF said it is “tragic that we’ve lost hard-won progress to reduce early death from cardiovascular disease”.
She said: “We’re in the grip of the worst heart care crisis in living memory.
“Every part of the system providing heart care is damaged, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, to crucial research that could give us faster and better treatments.
“This is happening at a time when more people are getting sicker and need the NHS more than ever.”
Around 7.6million Brits live with a heart or circulatory disease currently and the conditions cause a quarter of all deaths in the country.
The number and rate of deaths from these conditions under the age of 75 were falling before 2012 thanks to medical breakthroughs, the BHF said.
But the latest data show the rate has jumped in England for three years back-to-back.
The charity suggested the Covid pandemic, pressure on the NHS and worsening general health levels could be behind the trend.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, of the BHF, said: “These figures paint a heartbreaking picture.
“For more than half a century, pioneering research and medical advances helped us make huge strides towards reducing heart attack and stroke deaths.
“But this has been followed by a lost decade of progress in which far too many people have lost loved ones to cardiovascular disease too soon.”