WORKING-AGE Scots in the poorest parts of Scotland are six times more likely to die from heart disease than the wealthiest Scots, new figures show.
The NHS data also showed incidence rate for coronary heart disease (CHD) - including heart attacks, cases of heart failure and angina - has increased for the first time in a decade.
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In 2017-18 there were 18,422 cases of heart disease recorded, up from 17,915 the previous year.
Scotland has a “high prevalence of the immediate risk factors associated with heart disease, such as smoking, obesity and high cholesterol”, the report noted.
In the most-deprived 10% of communities there were 4,262 deaths from heart disease over the period 2013-17 - including 1,123 people under the age of 65. But in the least-deprived 10% of the country, deaths for this age group were just 202.
This translates to a death rate among under-65s in the poorest parts of Scotland at 218.5 per 100,000 people compared to 35.8 in the most affluent postcodes.
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Overall, the figures showed a “steady downward trend in deaths from coronary heart disease in Scotland” - although this rate of decline was noted to have slowed in the last five years
The report added that “although the overall incidence rate has been falling over time, the gap between the most and least deprived has remained fairly constant, and has been trending upwards over the last two years for males”.
It found that over the period 2008-2017 cases of heart disease fell by 24% in the least-deprived 20% of Scotland, but by only 17% in the most-deprived 20% of the country.
Meanwhile, the figures - produced by the Scottish Government’s health statistics body, ISD Scotland - also showed a decline in the number of Scots suffering and dying from strokes.
The incidence rate for stroke has decreased by 12.1% since 2008 and stroke-related deaths are down 38.7%.
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However, the mortality rate was 36% higher in the most deprived areas than the wealthiest, and medics also warned that too many patients are missing out on thrombectomies - a procedure to remove blood clots.
It is thought that hundreds of patients in Scotland could benefit, but in 2017 - the most recent year for which figures are available - only 13 were carried out. It is much more widely available in England and Northern Ireland.
Professor Derek Bell OBE, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said: “As a College, we support the drive to ensure that thrombectomy services are available for the people of Scotland.
“This treatment, if used early, can reduce disability and improve chances of recovery.”
It has never been a routine service, but the Scottish Government is now developing a national plan for thrombectomies.
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