The number of people living with coronary heart disease in Wales is falling but it still claims the lives of more than 4,300 people a year, a new report published today shows (Tues 29th July).
The first annual report on cardiac services in Wales sets out the progress the NHS has made in delivering the Welsh Government’s plans to tackle heart disease. It also identifies what more health boards and NHS trusts need to do to improve care for patients and help to prevent the more people developing the life-long disease.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford made a commitment to give a yearly update on progress when Together for Health – A Heart Disease Delivery Plan was published in May 2013.
Key findings include:
- The number of people living with coronary heart disease in Wales in 2012-13 was 125,567, 8,040 fewer than in 2006-07.
- There was a 6% reduction in the number of people living with coronary heart disease between 2006-07 and 2012-13.
- The number of emergency admissions for cardiovascular disease fell by more than 2,500 between 2010-11 and 2012-13.
- In 2011, coronary heart disease caused more than 4,300 deaths – approximately 14% of all deaths in Wales.
Professor Drakeford said:
“Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff and preventative measures now in place, we have made significant progress in reducing the burden of heart disease over the past few years.
“This report shows a drop in both the number of people living with heart disease and dying from it. Admissions to hospital have also fallen as a result of better care in community settings.
“However, we must continue to tackle heart disease which remains a major cause of death in Wales. We will continue to invest in services, improve early diagnosis and prevent the causes of the disease, including cutting smoking levels and encouraging people to adopt healthier lifestyles.”
The report also shows:
- During 2012-13, 3,680 patients in Wales suffered a heart attack.
- Spending in hospitals in 2011-12 on circulatory disease, which includes stroke and cardiac diseases, was more than £442m, more than 8% of all NHS expenditure in Wales.
- The death rate from heart disease in the most deprived fifth of wards is almost a third higher than in the least deprived, indicative of the pronounced effect of poverty on health.
Darren Millar AM, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services, said:
“It is welcome that fewer people are being diagnosed with coronary heart disease in Wales and I pay tribute to healthcare workers across the NHS who have provided first class care to cardiac patients.
“However, there remains much for Labour Ministers to do to address the crisis in cardiac care, which has seen patients shipped to a private hospital in Bristol, because waiting times were too long in the Labour-run Welsh NHS.
“Labour’s record-breaking cuts to the NHS have constrained capacity and driven up waiting times, so some patients end up needing more complex surgery than they originally needed, while the health of others gets worse as they wait for life-saving treatment.
“To improve care for cardiac patients, the Welsh Labour Government also needs to address its persistent failure to meet its ambulance response time targets, which have only been met once in the past two years.”
