New British Heart Foundation statistics show death rates from heart disease are falling - but the issue of people being overweight and succumbing to obesity is posing a major threat.
A staggering 2.7 million people are estimated to be living with coronary heart disease in the UK � a number that is rising year on year.
Almost one in eight people - or 12% - have been diagnosed with a disease of the heart or circulatory system. In 1989 this was just 7%. And this figure does not include the millions who live with blocked arteries without even knowing it.
The statistics, published today by the British Heart Foundation at the start of Heart Week 2004, show more people than ever are living with CHD - but fewer people are dying from it.
The number of deaths is down from nearly 121,000 in 2001 to nearly 117,500 in 2002, continuing the decline seen since the late 1970s.
But with woeful trends in physical activity and widespread unhealthy diets, Britain now has the developed world's fastest growing rate of obesity.
The BHF statistics back up the House of Commons Health Committee's prediction last week that the UK's growing obesity epidemic is threatening to reverse the falling CHD mortality rate.
The new compendium of annual statistics has been launched in advance of the BHF's Big Red Fightback campaign for Heart Week - from 5-13 June.
It gives a comprehensive guide to the burden of CHD in the UK today, presenting the most up-to-date figures available for the numbers dying from and living with CHD, the treatment they receive and trends for the main risk factors.
Professor Sir Charles George, Medical Director of the BHF, said: �It is pleasing to see the death rate from CHD continuing to fall at a steady rate, but our aim should be higher than simply keeping people alive.
�Every year, thousands of us are being told that our coronary arteries are incapable of getting enough blood to our hearts and that, without surgery, our heart muscle could suffer irreparable damage.
"And those are the fortunate ones who get a warning. Why put ourselves through pain and misery so unnecessarily?
�Most heart disease is avoidable if we take simple measures to improve our lifestyle. Too many people in the UK are exercising too little, eating diets too high in fat, salt and sugar, and consequently, becoming overweight or obese.
"This trend has real and worrying implications for the future rates of CHD in the UK and for the freedom of future generations to live long and healthy lives.�
Death rates
Despite 30 years in decline, the UK death rate from CHD is still one of the highest in Western Europe � only Finland and Ireland have slightly higher rates.
That means a working age man is more than twice as likely to die from CHD in the UK than in Italy. The UK death rate is also higher than most other developed countries, including USA, Australia and Japan.
And it has not fallen as fast as some countries, such as Australia and Norway. However, countries in Eastern and Central Europe - most notably former USSR countries - have witnessed substantial increases in their CHD death rates.
In recent years, CHD death rates in the UK have been falling more slowly in younger age groups and fastest in the 55-64 year age group.
Between 1991 and 2001, there was a 40% fall in the death rate for men aged 35-44 and a 47% fall for men aged 55-64. For women, there was a 33% fall in the 35-44 age group, compared to a 53% fall in the 55-64 age group.
Obesity
The statistics show that the improvements made in the UK could be undermined by the obesity crisis. Physical inactivity and unhealthy diets remain a major problem. Only 37% of men and 25% of women take the recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five times a week. A worrying 88% of men and 83% of women consume too much saturated fat. And salt intake is excessive in 85% of men and 69% of women.
This all adds up to increasing levels of overweight and obesity � in ten years, the percentage of obese adults has increased by more than 50% - from 14% of the population to 22%.
This is the developed world's fastest growing rate of obesity - of all the countries where statistics are available, only Kuwait and Samoa top the UK rate. The increase is particularly marked in men, in whom obesity rates have tripled since the mid 1980s, with men now as likely to be obese as women.
And with around a quarter of children - 22% of boys and 28% of girls - overweight or obese, future levels of adult obesity are likely to continue to worsen.
Cardiac rehabilitation
With more people living with CHD, cardiac rehabilitation services need to improve. Only a third - 33% - of patients discharged after a heart attack or coronary surgery currently receive rehabilitation, as opposed to the 85% target set by the National Service Framework.
In a bid to help correct this problem, the BHF is setting up 40 community-based cardiac rehabilitation programmes across the country with �4.7 million from the New Opportunities Fund.
Through this scheme, patients who have suffered a heart attack or had heart surgery will be offered a tailored programme of innovative support to help them get back to full health.
Treatment
The good news is that treatment for heart disease continues to improve. The number of angioplasty and bypass operations has increased significantly in recent years.
The number of patients receiving life-saving clot-busting drugs within 30 minutes of hospital arrival has risen dramatically - from 59% in April 2002 to 81% in December 2003.
The number of cardiologists in the NHS is up nearly 50% in five years, from 467 in 1999 to 685 in 2004, and cardiothoracic surgeons up from 182 to 217. And prescriptions for drugs to treat cardiovascular diseases are up from 162 million in 2002 to nearly 180 million in 2003 � three and half times as many as 1983.
Professor Sir Charles George added: �For all the progress made, the sad fact is that one person every two minutes suffers a heart attack in the UK.
"That adds up to 270,000 heart attacks every year. That number looks likely to rise if we allow complacency and inactivity to ruin our lives.�
The full 2004 statistics report is available to order online by visiting bhf.org.uk/publications - or via phone by calling 01604 640016.
The statistics can also be viewed at the BHF's statistics website HeartStats at www.heartstats.org
To take part in the Big Red Fightback campaign and raise money for the BHF's work, please visit bhf.org.uk/fightback or call 0800 028 2091.