Cardiovascular deaths in the UK have halved in the last 25 years, according to a new analysis.
This improvement is due to multiple factors, say researchers, in their study of mortality over several countries.
Professor Colin Pritchard of Bournemouth University, UK, and his team say that the NHS is “outperforming rival healthcare services across Europe, relative to GDP”.
Their analysis is based on national figures and information from the World Bank.
“Whilst heart disease is still a major threat, the good news is that over the past 25 years deaths rates have halved in the Western world,” says Professor Pritchard.
He adds: “Moreover, in the 55-74 age band, there have been major reductions, contributing to longevity and lower disability.
"The especially good news is that the UK has had the biggest reduction of all 21 countries, and significantly bigger falls than 15 other Western nations, including France, Germany and the USA.”
The team believe that UK-wide public health innovations, the National Service Framework to reduce heart attacks and a framework to deal with longer term conditions, have all contributed to the improvement.
As the UK spent less GDP on health than any other country, this demonstrates that the NHS comparatively achieves more with proportionately less, in terms of funding, they explain.
Conversely, the USA spends far more GDP on health than any other country and has higher rates of mortality.
But Professor Pritchard says: “With greater demands on the NHS, and with substantially lower average health expenditure than other countries and the increasing weight problems of people in their 30’s and 40’s, we are not sure how long the NHS can maintain it success.”
The report appeared recently in Online Journal of Cardiovascular Research.
Pritchard, C. et al. Reduced Cardiovascular Disease Deaths in 21 Western Countries 1989-91 V 2013-154: What is the UK doing Right or What is the USA doing Wrong? Online Journal of Cardiovascular Research 14 February 2019
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