New worry for heart patients

NINE in ten people living with coronary heart disease are also struggling with other health conditions, say experts.

It means two million heart patients in Britain are coping with several conditions – placing a huge burden on the NHS.

The British Heart Foundation, which compiled the figures, warned that doctors too often focus on treating one health complaint at a time. The analysis found that 90 per cent of the UK’s 2.3million coronary heart disease (CHD) patients – those who have had a heart attack or suffer from angina – have at least one other long-term illness including high blood pressure, diabetes and dementia.

And 57 per cent of these patients have at least three other long-term conditions.