Increase in Deaths from Heart Disease

The latest vital statistics from the Central Statistics Office show an increase in the number of deaths from heart disease in 2007, and experts are blaming our poor diets, lack of exercise and smoking.

Provisional figures recorded 9,931 deaths from circulatory diseases (including heart disease and stroke) compared to 9,662 in 2006.

Heart disease is Ireland’s biggest killer but for the past 20 years the number of deaths from heart disease has fallen steadily. In 1984 heart disease accounted for 54% of all deaths, falling to 36% of all deaths by 2005. However, these new statistics show that this downward trend is in danger of being reversed.

The Irish Heart Foundation has expressed concern at the statistics saying that obesity, lack of physical activity, diabetes and hypertension are to blame. Heart Foundation Chief Executive Michael O’Shea stressed that a lack of physical activity and smoking are two of the biggest detrimental impacts on heart health and both are preventable.

“Not enough Irish people are taking adequate exercise and this combined with the consumption of the wrong types of food products, is causing our population to increase in weight. Meanwhile smokers have two to three times the risk of heart attack compared to non-smokers. Smoking causes a quarter of all coronary heart disease deaths and 11 per cent of stroke deaths,” he said.

Posted Monday 1st September 2008