Cancer now killing more men than heart disease

CANCER has overtaken heart disease as the biggest killer of British men, research says.

But heart disease is still the most common cause of death among women.

The latest figures showed cancer ahead of cardiovascular disease as the primary cause of death for the first time since the mid-20th century.

The proportion of deaths from cancer was 29 per cent while cardiovascular disease accounted for 28 per cent.

And deaths from cardiovascular disease have dropped by more than 40 per cent since 1960.

In men, 32 per cent of deaths were due to cancer with 29 per cent down to cardiovascular disease. However, for women, more died from cardiovascular disease – at 28 per cent – while cancer was blamed for 27 per cent.

Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, circulatory system disease and other vascular disease.

Researchers used the latest national data and the Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2014 report.

Dr Adam Timmis, of the NIHR Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit at Barts Health, London, described the drop in cardiovascular- disease death rates as ‘among the greatest public health triumphs in the past 50 years’.

Dr Timmis said: ‘If the national effort put into the detection of breast cancer could be matched in protecting young women against myocardial infarction [heart attacks] many more lives would probably be saved.’

England had the lowest prevalence of cardiovascular conditions but there were higher rates in the North of England than the South.

The analysis, published by journal Heart, indicated that almost 2.3million people were living with some form of coronary heart disease in

‘Among great public health triumphs’

2012. Around half a million had heart failure and a further 1.1million were living with abnormal heart rhythm.

Scotland had the highest prevalence of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease, while Wales had the highest prevalence of high blood pressure, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation.

The number of surgical procedures and drugs that have been prescribed to treat and prevent cardiovascular disease has risen substantially over the past two decades.

In 2012-13 the NHS spent just under £7billion in England alone on cardiovascular disease, with the largest chunk on hospital care.