Heart disease death hotspots across the UK have been revealed based on new data. Two tables below show areas with the highest and lowest death rates from heart disease in the country.
It comes as an expert has revealed to Express.co.uk that the most deprived parts of England are hit the hardest.
New data from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) showed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, have reached their highest level in more than a decade.
Certain parts of the country seem to be suffering the most, with heart death rates among under-75s being up to three times higher in cities like Glasgow, Manchester and Blackpool.
In fact, the new analysis found that Glasgow City saw the highest death rate from cardiovascular disease between 2018 and 2020.
Around 136.4 people out of every 100,000 died as a result of these conditions, which is nearly double the UK average.
On the other hand, places including Rutland, East Hampshire, and Hart saw the lowest death rates from heart disease.
Rutland in the East Midlands had the fewest deaths per 100,000 people (36.8).
Express.co.uk’s interactive map below shows the areas of the UK where under-75s most at risk of dying from heart disease.
BHF officials also warned “heartbreaking” deaths from cardiovascular issues have hit their highest level in over a decade.
The analysis found that heart disease killed 80 out of every 100,000 people in England in 2022 – the highest rate since 2011.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the BHF, told Express.co.uk: “Since 2010, decades of progress in cutting deaths from heart disease has stalled and now we’re even starting to see it reverse.
“The health gap between rich and poor has markedly widened. People are getting sicker and rates of some cardiovascular conditions and risk factors, including obesity and diabetes, are rising.
“This is happening everywhere but it’s particularly notable in the most deprived parts of England.”
Dr Babu-Narayan explained that there are currently around 6.4 million people living with cardiovascular disease in England.
The doctor added: “Cardiovascular disease causes just over a quarter (26 percent) of all deaths in England; that’s over 140,000 deaths each year.
“An average of 390 people die each day, [which is the equivalent of] one death every four minutes.”
While there are some risk factors for cardiovascular disease that can’t be changed, certain lifestyle tweaks could help protect your heart.
Dr Babu-Narayan said: “There are things all of us can do to reduce our risk, including managing our weight, improving our diets and keeping physically active.
“Attending your routine health check when invited is crucial to enable early detection and treatment of risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which could help prevent heart attacks, strokes and vascular dementia.”
The new data from BHF have been age-standardised, which means they aren’t skewed by places that have bigger proportions of pensioners.
The figures were worked out by assuming each area has the same make-up of residents by age, rather than raw numbers of deaths.
