Campaigners have called for action to help reduce heart failure rates after a sharp increase in hospital visits for the condition.
In the last decade the number of visits annually increased by 36%, according to the British Heart Foundation.
Analysis of GP lists suggest the number of patients is increasing at a rate of about 2% a year, according to the foundation.
There now more than 500,000 people across the UK diagnosed with the condition, including 75,000 under the age of 65, according to its analysis.
The increase is caused by the ageing of the population and improved survival from heart attacks, the BHF says.
It called for more research to improve treatments for heart failure and to reduce and repair damage caused by heart attacks.
Its medical director Professor Peter Weissberg said: “It is deeply concerning that we are seeing such an alarming increase in the number of heart failure patients attending hospital.
“Our research has helped to drastically improve survival rates from heart attack and seven in ten people now survive. But this means an increasing number of people are subsequently living with the debilitating impact of heart failure.
“We urgently need to fund more research into the condition to find new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart failure.”
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