Calls for heart disease strategy revamp

The Scottish Government has been urged to revamp its heart disease strategy amid warnings that progress is stalling.

The last strategy was published in 2014 and set out six priorities for care, including improvements to reduce the chances of patients suffering cardiac arrest away from hospital and boosting access to services for congenital patients.

But the British Heart Foundation (BHF) says investment in the area has shrunk compared to other diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

According to the charity, £117 million has been earmarked for a new cancer strategy while £42m has been similarly pledged for type 2 diabetes.

David Mccolgan, senior policy and public affairs manager at BHF, said: “Heart disease is a major cause of ill health and death in Scotland and yet the Scottish Government’s plans to tackle heart disease haven’t been updated since 2014.

“During this time, there have been a lot of changes in the health care system, not least due to the pandemic.

“Health inequalities also remain.

“Rates of heart and circulatory diseases in the most deprived areas of Scotland are significantly higher than those in the least deprived areas.

“Dealing with these challenges and years of underinvestment means that new national priorities for addressing heart disease in Scotland are needed. That’s why BHF Scotland has been working with the clinical community and heart patients to identify them.

“As we look forward to the Scottish elections at Holyrood in May, we are calling on all political parties to commit to work with us to tackle these issues.”