Killer disease hotspot revealed

6:19pm Wednesday 17th May 2006

PEOPLE in London are more likely to die young of coronary heart disease (CHD) than the average English person, new statistics reveal.

Published by the British Heart Foundation last week, the figures show that Ealing has the tenth highest rate of CHD death rates for men under 65 in London (53 per 100,000) higher than both the London and England average of 46 and 45 respectively.

But Ealing women are seventh in the women's table (15 per 100,000) also higher than the London and England average of 11.

The figures give an indication of the areas that suffer most from CHD but represent only a small percentage of the overall burden of what remains the country's single biggest killer.

Dr Mike Knapton, director of prevention and care for the BHF, said: "These statistics give us clues about which areas suffer more from heart disease than others in London and help inform where most work needs to be done to reduce premature heart disease deaths in future.

"As heart disease is still the UK's single biggest killer, we need to continue reminding people of what they can do to reduce their risk and that means stopping smoking, taking plenty of exercise and eating a balanced, healthy diet, low in fat and salt and high in fresh fruit and vegetables."

CHD accounted for 106,000 deaths in the UK in 2004 a third of which were among people under 75. This means CHD kills almost nine times more people than breast cancer, more than three times more than lung cancer and more than five times more than injuries and poisoning.