Heart disease deaths rise 10%

STATISTICS showing a 10% increase in deaths from cardiovascular disease are alarming, the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) said yesterday.

Provisional figures issued from the Central Statistics Office show that 2,937 people died from cardiovascular disease during the first three months of this year, compared with 2,665 for the same period last year.

Over the past 20 years the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease, Ireland’s biggest killer, have been falling steadily.

Heart disease accounted for 54% of all deaths in 1984, with the proportion reduced to 36% of all deaths by 2005.

The national charity fighting heart disease and stroke has warned that the downward trend is in danger of being reversed due to growing societal problems like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.

IHF chief executive Michael O’Shea said the truth was that more people died from heart disease than any other illness or event.

“It kills more people than cancer, suicide and road accidents combined,” he stressed.

Mr O’Shea said obesity and smoking had a huge detrimental impact on heart disease and both were 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,” he said.

IHF medical director Dr Brian Maurer said: “We have to take responsibility for this ourselves. We have to start eating more sensibly; we have to start exercising more; we have to get out of our cars and onto our bikes.”