The number of people dying under the age of 75 from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK has increased to the highest level in more than a decade, according to our new analysis.

More than 39,000 people in the UK will die prematurely from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, coronary heart disease and stroke in 2022, according to the latest figures, which equates to an average of 750 people every week. . This is the highest annual total since 2008.

This opposite trend is broadly reflected in age-standardized premature mortality rates, which take into account changes and differences in population size and demographics. Prior to 2012, the number and mortality rate of these diseases among people under 75 years of age was decreasing, thanks in part to decades of medical and scientific advances.

But after nearly a decade of slowing progress, recent figures show premature death rates from cardiovascular disease have increased in the UK for the third year in a row. This is the first time in nearly 60 years that the trend has clearly reversed.

Emergency action on three fronts

Further analysis is required to understand what is driving the trends. However, the past decade has seen an increasingly unhealthy population in the UK, widening health inequalities, years of extreme pressure on the NHS, and more recently the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential. I believe there are many factors. Impact of the new coronavirus infection.

And over the past decade, governments have failed to take meaningful steps to address many of the causes of heart disease and stroke, including still-high obesity rates.

To get back on track to reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease, we want to take urgent action on three fronts. It’s about improving the prevention of heart disease and stroke, prioritizing heart care in the NHS, and boosting cardiovascular research to discover breakthrough new treatments and heart disease. Heal.

“Painful picture”

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said:

“For more than half a century, pioneering research and medical advances have made great strides toward reducing heart attack and stroke deaths. He died too soon, and the lost decade of progress continued.

“We can stop this heartbreak if politicians come together to address the preventable causes of heart disease and reduce long waiting lists for people in need of life-saving heart and stroke treatments. , only when it comes to driving scientific advances to unlock innovative new treatments and treatments.

“Hesitating to act is a fatal mistake. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in this country and our hearts need to be protected now.”

significant deceleration

Early death rates from cardiovascular disease have increased year-on-year since 2020, with the latest figures for 2022 showing that 80 in 100,000 people will die prematurely from cardiovascular disease in the UK in 2022. This is the highest death rate since 2011.

But even before this annual increase began, the rate of improvement has slowed significantly since 2012. Between 2012 and 2019, early death rates from cardiovascular disease in the UK fell by 33 per cent, compared to just 11 per cent. Percentages from 2005 to 2012.

The reasons for the rise are multiple and complex. The red flags have been there for more than a decade, although recent years are thought to be due to increased pressure on the NHS and the coronavirus pandemic.

Since 2010, the health gap between rich and poor has widened significantly. Growth in healthy life expectancy has stalled in England’s most deprived regions, rates of some cardiovascular diseases are rising and disease is becoming more serious.

At the same time, not enough has been done to address cardiovascular risk factors over the past decade. Millions of people live with undiagnosed risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, and almost two-thirds of adults in the UK have a weight that would classify them as overweight or obese. Masu. This poses a big problem for the future.

Emergency intervention was long awaited.

Dr Sonya Babu Narayan, Associate Medical Director and Consultant Cardiologist, said:

“Every part of the system that delivers cardiac care is damaged, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery to the critical research that enables faster and better treatments. It’s happening at a time when people are getting sick and need the NHS more than ever.

“I think it’s tragic that hard-won progress in reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease has been lost. Furthermore, more people are dying from cardiovascular disease overall than expected, and more people are dying from cardiovascular disease than expected. more common than any other disease group. It is clear that urgent intervention is long overdue.”

sound the alarm

Last year, we reported that analysis of data from the Office for Health Improvement and Inequalities (OHID) showed that there had been more than 100,000 excess deaths related to cardiovascular disease in the UK since February 2020.

As we reported at the time, the reasons for the high number of excess deaths related to cardiovascular disease in the UK are complex. However, in addition to deaths from COVID-19 in people with cardiovascular disease, the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the heart and circulatory system and the extreme and ongoing impact on GPs and cardiac care services. I believe this is due to confusion.

We believe that the alarming trends in premature death from cardiovascular disease are similarly complex.

Another part of the solution

Research holds the key to unlocking new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart and circulatory diseases. The research we fund leads to life-saving discoveries, from understanding the causes of heart attacks and how to treat them, to artificial intelligence that analyzes heart scans, helping doctors quickly and accurately treat heart attacks faster and more accurately than ever before. Diseases can now be detected.

But with around a quarter of deaths in the UK still due to cardiovascular disease, we need to accelerate the pace at which we turn promising science into revolutionary breakthroughs. To enable research funders like us to continue making life-saving discoveries, we need a thriving research and development ecosystem in the UK.

why our hearts need more