What we know
What information do we have about the Eastern Board area?
What is the result of this on our health locally?
Policies
What is happening in the Eastern Board area?

Coronary heart disease may be broadly defined to include myocardial infarction (heart attack), angina, coronary atherosclerosis and heart failure. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in both men and women in the UK.  

Changes in risk factors (smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol) and advances in medical care (drug treatments and interventional treatments such as angioplasty, coronary artery stenting and coronary artery bypass surgery) have contributed to the decline in deaths from heart disease over the past 30 years. Following a heart attack patients should be offered a programme of cardiac rehabilitation.

Some therapeutic interventions can improve the prognosis of heart disease. These include aspirin, B-blockers and lipid lowering drugs. The introduction of thrombolytic (clot-busting) therapy has significantly improved the outlook of patients suffering from a heart attack if it can be delivered soon after the event occurs.

Coronary heart disease, cancer and respiratory disease are the main causes of death among both sexes, accounting for over 65% of deaths.  Many of these deaths occur under 65 years of age and are potentially preventable.  There is socio-economic variation in deaths from circulatory disease. In Ireland the mortality rates of those in the lowest occupational classes is more than twice that of those in the highest classes from circulatory diseases(including heart disease and strokes).

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Death rates for ischaemic heart disease have been decreasing steadily in Eastern Board residents over the last decade. This reflects the general trend across Northern Ireland. In 2003 there were 639 male deaths and 517 female deaths due to ischaemic heart disease. In 2003 ischaemic heart disease accounted for a total of 4245 potential years of life lost.

Around one in five men and one in six women die from the heart disease.  Coronary heart disease caused just under 114,000 deaths in the UK in 2003.  Other forms of heart disease cause around 33,500 deaths in the UK each year.  Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of premature death in the UK (deaths before the age of 75).  22% of premature deaths in men and 12% of premature deaths in women are from coronary heart disease.   There are regional differences in deaths from coronary heart disease across the UK.  Deaths rates from coronary heart disease in Northern Ireland are lower than in Scotland but higher than in the South of England.

There were 6990 cardiology inpatient episodes in Eastern Board residents in 2002/2003. A large number of patients are also admitted to general medicine and geriatric medicine with a heart disease diagnosis.

217 Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedures (heart bypass surgery) were carried out on Eastern Board residents in 2002/2003.

Coronary heart disease remains a major cause of chronic illness and death of residents of the Eastern Board area with many people accessing primary care and hospital services to manage its effects. Action to tackle heart disease is taken at a range of levels including:

	Lifestyle interventions, in particular, stopping smoking, dietary modification and promoting physical activity
	Tackling high blood pressure and high blood lipids
	Treatment of people with angina with drug therapy and, when necessary, cardiac revascularisation procedures
	Ensuring rapid response for people who have had heart attacks
	Developing cardiac rehabilitation services to reduce people’s risks of having heart attacks in the future.

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